by 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 


BY  MEREDITH  NICHOLSON 

BLACKSHEEP !     BLACKSHEEP 1 
LADY  LARKSPUR 
THE  MADNESS  OF  MAY 
THE  VALLEY  OF  DEMOCRACY 


CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


Her  "Very  glad,  I'm  sure,"  was  uttered  with  reservations 


Blacksheep !    Blacksheep ! 


BY 
MEREDITH    NICHOLSON 


ILLUSTRATED    BY 

LESLIE   L.   BENSON 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 
1920 


COPYRIGHT,  1920,  BY 

SONS 


Published  April,  1920 
Copyright,  1919,  1920,  by  the  International  Magazine  Co. 


TO 

LOUIS    C.   HUESMANN 


i/,22128 


Maybe,  in  spite  of  their  tameless  days 

Of  outcast  liberty, 
They're  sick  at  heart  for  the  homely  ways 

Where  their  gathered  brothers  be. 


Meanwhile,  "Blacksheep!   Blacksheep!"  we  cry  , 

Safe  in  the  inner  fold  ; 
And  maybe  they  hear,  and  wonder  why, 

And  marvel,  out  in  the  cold. 

—  RICHARD  BURTON. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Her  "Very  glad,  I'm  sure,"  was  uttered  with  reservations 

Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

At  the  crack  of  the  gun  the  fugitive  stopped  short     .         .       32 

"It's  all  right  about  you,  Governor,  but  the  kid  had  better 

shake  the  tree" 112 

"We  must  be  in  a  hurry  or  that  woman  will  catch  you"    .     234 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP 


CHAPTER  ONE 

I 

MRS.  HOWARD  FEATHERSTONE  spent  much  time 
thinking  up  things  for  her  brother  Archibald  Bennett 
to  do,  and  as  Archie  was  the  ideal  bachelor  brother, 
always  remembering  the  children's  birthdays  and 
turning  up  dutifully  for  Christmas  dinners,  he  ac 
cepted  her  commissions  in  the  most  amiable  spirit 
and  his  services  were  unfailingly  satisfactory.  He 
knew  perfectly  well  that  most  of  the  jobs  she  imposed 
upon  him  had  been  politely  but  firmly  declined  by 
her  busy  husband,  but  this  made  no  difference  to 
Archie,  who  had  all  the  time  in  the  world,  and  in 
finite  patience,  and  he  rather  enjoyed  tracing  express 
packages  and  matching  ribbons. 

"The  agent  who's  been  looking  up  a  summer 
house  for  us  says  this  is  an  unusual  opportunity,  as 
there  are  few  places  to  let  at  Bailey  Harbor  and  this 
one  is  unexpectedly  on  the  market.  The  owner  is 
obliged  to  leave  just  after  settling  in  it,  so  it's  all  in 
perfect  condition  and  if  it  meets  our  needs  we  can 
go  right  up.  Howard's  simply  swamped  with  work 
-  he's  conducting  some  sort  of  investigation  with 
night  meetings  and  that  sort  of  thing  —  and  we'd 
all  appreciate  it  if  you  could  run  up  there  for  us." 

The  many  preoccupations  of  his  brother-in-law, 
who  held  a  seat  in  Congress  and  took  his  job  seriously, 
were  well  known  to  Archie.  Featherstone  was  an 


4        BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

important  cog  in  the  governmental  machinery  while 
Archie  had  nothing  on  earth  to  do,  so  it  was  eminently 
fitting  that  he,  as  an  unattached  and  unemployed 
brother-in-law,  should  assume  some  of  Feather- 
stone's  domestic  burdens.  Archie  had  planned  to 
leave  for  the  Canadian  Rockies  two  days  later,  but 
as  no  urgent  business  called  him  in  that  direction, 
he  obligingly  agreed  to  take  a  look  at  the  Bailey 
Harbor  house  that  had  been  placed  so  providentially 
within  reach  of  his  sister. 

"The  owner  belongs  to  that  old  New  England 
Congdon  family,"  Mrs.  Featherstone  explained ; 
"they  date  from  the  beginning  of  time,  and  some  of 
them  are  a  trifle  eccentric.  You  remember  one  of 
them  —  he  must  be  the  father  or  an  uncle  of  the 
owner  of  this  house  —  Eliphalet  Congdon,  who  lives 
in  Boston  and  is  horribly  rich  but  is  always  doing 
weird  things.  There  was  a  perfectly  killing  article 
in  the  paper  just  the  other  day  telling  of  his  latest 
exploit,  which  was  getting  arrested  for  refusing  to 
allow  them  to  check  his  umbrella  at  the  Metropolitan 
Museum.  They  thought,  of  course,  that  he  was  a 
crank  who  wanted  to  poke  holes  through  the  pictures, 
and  he  made  such  a  fuss  that  they  had  to  arrest  him 
and  he  wouldn't  give  bail  but  had  his  lawyer  get  him 
out  on  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus." 

"The  same  philanthropist  who  had  a  bus  built 
just  like  the  Fifth  Avenue  busses  and  wanted  to  run 
it  himself  to  pick  up  women  and  children  the  regular 
busses  wouldn't  stop  for,"  laughed  Archie.  "If 
you're  renting  a  house  from  that  family  it's  just  as 
well  to  look  into  it  carefully.  All  right,  May;  I'll 
inspect  the  premises  for  you." 

In  spite  of  his  good-natured  assent  she  continued 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!        5 

to  pile  up  excuses  for  her  husband  and  explained  in 
great  detail  the  rundown  condition  of  the  children 
which  made  it  necessary  to  get  them  out  of  Washing 
ton  as  quickly  as  possible.  Archie  was  already 
mentally  planning  the  details  of  his  trip  with  his 
customary  exactness.  As  he  traveled  constantly 
in  the  interest  of  his  health,  which  had  been  a  cause 
of  solicitude  to  himself  and  all  his  relatives  as  far 
back  as  any  one  could  remember,  he  knew  train 
schedules  by  heart,  and  by  catching  the  Federal 
Express  the  next  night  he  would  be  able  to  connect 
with  a  train  at  Boston  that  would  land  him  at  Bailey 
Harbor  at  two  o'clock  the  same  day. 

With  any  sort  of  luck  he  could  escape  from  the 
Harbor,  reach  New  York  the  following  morning  and 
proceed  immediately  westward.  A  few  telegrams 
would  readjust  matters  so  that  he  would  lose  only 
a  day  in  setting  out  for  Banff,  which  his  newest 
doctor  had  told  him  was  an  ideal  spot  for  him. 
Many  other  doctors  had  posted  him  off  to  numerous 
other  places  in  pursuit  of  the  calm  or  stimulus  or 
whatever  it  was  he  needed  to  make  him  a  sound  man 
capable  of  taking  some  part  in  the  world's  affairs. 
Archie's  condition  was  always  a  grateful  topic  of  con 
versation  and  now  that  his  sister  had  told  him  how 
many  bedrooms  her  menage  required,  and  warned 
him  particularly  to  be  sure  that  there  was  a  sleeping 
porch  and  a  garage,  and  not  to  forget  to  look  care 
fully  into  the  drainage  system  of  the  entire  Maine 
coast ;  having  watched  him  make  notes  of  these 
matters,  Mrs.  Featherstone,  in  her  most  sisterly  tone, 
broached  the  subject  of  his  health. 

"  Your  troubles,  Archie,  are  all  due  to  the  scarlet 
fever  you  had  when  you  were  a  child.  I've  thought 


6  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

that  if  you  could  ever  get  into  some  active  work  it 
would  cure  you.  These  sanatoriums  you  live  in  most 
of  the  time  never  do  you  any  good.  They  just  keep 
you  thinking  about  yourself.  What  you  need  is  a 
complete  upsetting,  —  something  that  would  give  a 
new  turn  to  your  life.  And,  you  know,"  she  went  on 
softly,  "I'd  hoped,  Archie,  that  the  right  girl  would 
turn  up  one  of  these  days  and  that  that  would  prove 
the  panacea.  But  the  girls  I've  picked  out  never 
pleased  you,  and  here  you  are,  the  finest  brother  in  the 
world,  and  the  most  conscientious  man  alive,  always 
doing  generous  things  for  people  —  you  know  you 
do,  Archie — with  nothing  ahead  of  you  but  just  one 
sanatorium  after  another.  I  haven't  much  faith 
in  this  idea  of  your  going  to  the  Rockies ;  you  know 
you  tried  the  Alps  five  years  ago  and  the  altitude 
nearly  killed  you." 

"I  seem  doomed  to  sit  on  the  sidelines  and  watch 
the  game,"  Archie  agreed  gloomily. 

"But  sometimes,  I  think  you  yield  too  easily  to 
discouragement.  Please  don't  think  I  mean  to  be 
unkind  or  unjust,  but  if  at  some  turn  of  the  road  you 
were  obliged  to  put  your  back  to  the  wall  and  fight 
for  your  life  !  Really,  dear,  I  think  you  would  win 
the  battle  and  be  a  very  different  man  afterward." 

Archie  smiled  wanly.  He  had  the  lively  imagi 
nation  of  the  neurasthenic  and  very  often  he  had 
dreamed  of  vanquishing  single-handed  a  dozen 
enemies,  or  plunging  into  a  burning  house  and 
staggering  out  half  dead  bearing  a  helpless  child 
in  his  arms.  To  look  at  him  no  one  would  believe 
that  he  had  a  nerve  in  his  tall  frame.  Once  a  friend 
carried  him  off  to  a  farm  where  an  autocratic  athletic 
trainer  rejuvenated  tired  business  men ;  and  Archie 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!        7 

survived  the  heroic  treatment  and  reappeared 
bronzed  and  hardened  and  feeling  better  than  he 
had  ever  felt  in  his  life.  But  a  winter  spent  in  an 
office  and  leisure  to  think  of  himself  as  an  invalid 
brought  back  the  old  apprehensions,  and  there  being 
no  one  at  hand  to  drag  him  again  to  the  trainer's, 
he  renewed  his  acquaintance  with  the  waiting-rooms 
of  specialists. 

"There  will  be  a  few  people  in  for  dinner  tonight," 
remarked  Mrs.  Featherstone  as  he  rose  to  go ;  "  very 
simple,  you  know;  and  Howard  just  telephoned 
that  he  can't  possibly  come,  so  if  you  can  arrange 
it,  Archie  — " 

"All  right,  May.  Weld  and  Coburn  are  in  town 
and  I  was  going  to  have  dinner  with  them  at  the 
Army  and  Navy,  but  if  you  really  want  me  - 

"Oh,  that's  perfectly  fine  of  you,  Archie!  You 
are  splendid  to  break  your  engagement  with  them 
when  you  three  don't  meet  very  often ;  but  it  will 
be  a  real  help  to  me  to  have  you.  It's  so  late  now 
that  I  can't  ask  any  one  else  in  Howard's  place. 
And  Isabel  Perry  will  be  here ;  you  know  she's  the 
dearest  girl,  and  I  always  thought  you  really  did  like 
Isabel.  Her  father  lost  all  his  money  before  he  died 
and  she's  had  a  position  as  gymnasium  teacher  in 
Miss  Gordon's  school.  This  summer  she's  to  run  a 
girls'  camp  up  in  Michigan  and  she  can't  help  making 
a  splendid  success  of  it." 

Archie  did  not  at  once  detach  Miss  Perry  from  the 
innumerable  host  of  young  women  his  sister  had 
introduced  him  to;  they  were  a  hazy  composite  in 
his  memory,  but  when  Mrs.  Featherstone  insisted 
that  he  couldn't  have  forgotten  Miss  Perry's  smile 
and  merry  laugh,  he  promptly  declared  that  he 


8        BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

remembered  her  perfectly.  When  he  found  himself 
sitting  beside  her  later  at  Mrs.  Featherstone's 
table,  with  a  lady  on  his  right  who  was  undoubtedly 
most  distinguished  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  failed 
to  catch  her  name  and  understood  very  little  of  her 
rapid  French,  he  was  very  grateful  for  Miss  Perry's 
propinquity.  The  smile  and  the  laugh  were  both 
better  even  than  Mrs.  Featherstone's  specifications, 
and  her  English  had  a  refreshing  Western  tang  and 
raciness  that  pleased  him. 

"I  passed  you  on  the  street  the  other  day  and 
made  frantic  efforts  to  attract  your  attention  but 
you  were  in  a  trance  and  failed  to  see  my  signals." 

"I  was  taking  my  walk,"  he  stammered. 

"'My  walk!"  she  repeated.  "You  speak  as 
though  you  had  a  monopoly  of  that  form  of  ex 
ercise.  I  must  say  you  didn't  appear  to  be  enjoying 
yourself.  Your  aspect  was  wholly  funereal  and  your 
demeanor  that  of  a  man  with  a  certain  number  of 
miles  wished  on  him." 

"Four  a  day,"  Archie  confessed  with  an  air  of 
resignation;  "two  in  the  morning  and  two  before 
dinner." 

"Then  you  were  doing  your  morning  lap  when 
I  passed  you.  Only  four  miles  a  day?" 

"By  the  doctor's  orders,"  he  assented  with  the 
wistful  smile  that  usually  evoked  sympathetic 
murmurs  in  feminine  auditors. 

"Oh,  the  doctors!"  remarked  the  girl  as  though 
she  had  no  great  opinion  of  doctors  in  general  or  of 
Mr.  Bennett's  medical  advisers  in  particular.  He 
was  used  to  a  great  deal  of  sympathy  and  he  was 
convinced  that  Miss  Perry  was  an  utterly  unsym 
pathetic  person. 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!        9 

"What  would  you  call  a  good  walk?"  he  asked 
a  little  tartly. 

"Oh,  ten,  twenty,  thirty!  I've  done  fifteen  and 
gone  to  a  dance  at  the  end  of  the  tramp." 

"But  you  haven't  my  handicap,"  he  protested 
defensively.  "You  can't  be  very  gay  about  walking 
when  you're  warned  that  excessive  fatigue  may  have 
disastrous  consequences  !" 

She  was  not  wholly  without  feeling  for  her  face 
grew  grave  for  a  moment  and  she  met  his  eyes 
searchingly,  with  something  of  the  professional 
scrutiny  to  which  he  had  long  been  accustomed. 

"  Eyes  clear ;  color  very  good  ;  voice  a  trifle  weak 
and  suggesting  timidity  and  feeble  initiative.  In 
trospective;  a  little  self-conscious,  and  unimportant 
nervous  symptoms  indicated  by  the  rolling  of  bread 
crumbs." 

"I've  paid  doctors  large  fees  for  telling  me  the 
same  things,"  he  said,  hastily  hiding  the  bread 
crumbs  under  the  edge  of  his  plate.  "I  wish  you'd 
write  those  items  down  for  me.  I'm  in  earnest 
about  that." 

"When  did  you  say  you  were  leaving  town  ?" 

"Tomorrow  evening.  If  you'll  write  out  your 
diagnosis  and  any  suggestions  you  may  have  as  to 
my  habits,  diet  and  general  course  of  life,  I  promise 
to  put  them  into  practice." 

"Your  case  interests  me  and  I'll  consider  this 
matter  of  advising  you." 

"I  shall  expect  the  document  tomorrow  after 
noon  !" 

"I  should  want  to  be  very  sure,"  she  laughed,  "that 
you  were  really  leaving  town  and  that  I  shouldn't 
see  you  for  a  long  time  —  perhaps  never  again  !" 


10  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"That  has  an  ominous  sound,  as  though  you 
were  going  to  give  me  a  death  sentence !  Is  my 
case  as  bad  as  that  ?" 

"Not  at  all;  but  it  calls  for  that  disagreeable 
frankness  we  all  dislike  in  our  friends  and  very 
properly  resent  in  mere  acquaintances.  I  should  be 
enormously  embarrassed  to  meet  you  until  after— 

She  paused  and  surveyed  him  once  more,  question- 
ingly.  The  French  lady  was  telling  a  story  to  the 
whole  company,  and  they  were  obliged  to  give  heed 
to  it ;  and  as  Archie  failed  to  catch  the  point  of  it 
Miss  Perry  very  kindly  gave  him  the  clue.  The  talk 
was  general  for  a  few  minutes  and  then  he  begged 
her  to  finish  the  sentence  that  had  been  left  in  the  air. 

"Oh,  it  doesn't  matter!  I  think  I  was  going  to 
say  that  it  would  be  embarrassing  to  see  you  until 
after  you  had  given  my  little  hints  a  trial.  I'll 
say  now  that  just  the  orderly  course  of  your  life, 
with  four  miles  a  day,  no  more,  no  less,  isn't  a  bit 
likely  to  get  you  anywhere.  My  treatment  for  such 
a  case  as  yours  would  be  very  drastic.  I'd  set  you 
some  real  stunts  to  do  if  you  were  my  patient.  May 
tells  me  that  they  won't  have  you  in  the  army,  the 
navy,  or  the  flying  corps,  but  I  believe  I  could  find 
some  excitement  for  you,"  she  ended  musingly. 

"As,  for  example  —  ?"  he  asked,  finding  the  French 
lady  conspiring  with  an  attache  of  the  Italian 
embassy.  "To  meet  the  competition  of  the  nerve 
specialists,  you'll  have  to  be  very  explicit  and  tell 
me  exactly  what  to  do." 

"Right  there  is  one  of  your  troubles  —  living  by 
fixed  schedules.  You've  never  felt  the  world's 
rough  hand;  you  don't  know  life!  Clubs  and 
sanatoriums  and  week-ends  in  comfortable  houses 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  n 

don't  count.  You're  a  tremendously  formal  person, 
Mr.  Bennett !  What  you  really  need  is  a  good  hard 
jar !  Every  morning  you  know  exactly  what  you're 
going  to  do  every  hour  of  the  day.  It's  routine  that 
kills !  Now  just  suppose  when  you're  out  on  one 
of  your  walks  you  were  to  overpower  the  chauffeur 
of,  we  will  say,  the  British  ambassador,  and  drive 
the  car  bearing  his  Excellency  into  some  lonely 
fastness  of  the  Virginia  hills,  and  hold  him  for  a 
ransom,  and  collect  the  money  in  twenty-dollar  gold 
pieces  and  escape  with  it  and  then  come  back  to 
Washington  and  spend  it  all  on  a  big  party  with  the 
ambassador  as  the  guest  of  honor.  There  would 
be  a  real  achievement  —  something  that  would 
make  you  famous  in  two  hemispheres." 

"And  incidentally  lock  me  up  for  life  if  I  escaped 
being  shot!  Such  an  escapade  would  very  likely 
spoil  our  cordial  relations  with  England  and  cause 
no  end  of  trouble." 

"There  you  are!"  she  exclaimed,  "thinking  al 
ways  of  the  cost,  never  of  the  fun !  Of  course  you 
would  never  do  any  such  thing.  Let  me  try  again ! 
Suppose  you  were  to  hold  up  a  bank  messenger  in 
Wall  Street  and  skip  with  a  satchelful  of  negotiable 
securities  and  then,  after  the  papers  were  through 
ragging  the  police  for  their  inefficiency,  you  would 
drive  up  to  the  bank  in  a  taxi,  walk  in  and  return 
the  money,  saying  you  Jiad  found  it  in  the  old  family 
pew  at  Trinity  when  you  went  in  to  say  your  prayers  ! 
Here  would  be  an  opportunity  to  break  the  force  of 
habit  and  awaken  your  self-confidence." 

"Am  I  to  understand  that  you  practice  what  you 
preach  ?  I  don't  mean  to  be  impertinent,  but 
really,  — " 


12       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

"Oh,  I'm  perfectly  capable  of  doing  anything  I've 
suggested.  I'm  merely  biding  my  time.  Parents 
are  pardonably  fussy  about  the  sort  of  person  they 
turn  their  children  over  to,  so  I  must  have  a  care. 
I  mean  to  dig  for  buried  treasure  this  summer, 
realizing  the  dream  of  a  lifetime." 

"That  appeals  to  me  strongly.  Perhaps  you'd 
let  me  assist  in  that  undertaking  ?" 

"  Impossible !  I  want  all  the  glory  and  eke  the 
gold  if  I  find  the  hidden  chests.  Talk  about  romance 
being  dead !  My  grandfather  was  a  planter  in 
Mississippi  before  the  Civil  War.  In  about  1860 
he  saw  trouble  ahead,  and  as  he  was  opposed  to 
secession  he  'turned  everything  he  had  into  gold, 
bought  several  tracts  of  land  in  Michigan  and  New 
York  and  secretly  planted  his  money.  His  wife 
and  children  refused  to  share  his  lonely  exile  and 
he  sent  them  to  England  but  clung  to  America 
himself,  and  died  suddenly  and  alone  the  second 
year  of  the  war  on  the  very  acres  my  father  in 
herited  in  Michigan.  That's  where  I'm  opening 
my  camp." 

"And  the  gold  hasn't  been  found  ?"  asked  Archie 
deeply  interested. 

"Not  a  coin  so  far!  You  see  grandfather  made 
his  will  in  war  time  and  only  divided  the  land,  being 
afraid  to  mention  the  buried  treasure  in  a  document 
that  would  become  a  public  record  when  he  died." 

"This  is  most  exciting.  It's  only  unfortunate 
that  it's  not  pirate  gold  to  give  zest  to  your  enter 
prise." 

"Oh,  the  pirate  in  the  story  is  a  cousin  of  mine, 
who  inherited  the  land  up  near  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  has  dug  all  over  it  without  results.  My  father 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  13 

gave  the  Michigan  scenery  to  me,  but  this  cousin 
has  been  digging  on  my  land,  most  unwarrantably ! 
He's  rather  a  dashing  young  person!" 

Archie  was  so  enthralled  that  he  forgot  the  type 
written  dietary  he  always  carried  in  his  pocket  and 
ate  most  of  his  portion  of  beef  tenderloin  before  he 
remembered  that  red  meats  were  denied  him.  He 
laid  down  his  fork  so  abruptly  that  she  asked  him 
what  was  the  matter. 

"Nothing;  only  you've  interested  me  so  much 
that  I've  eaten  a  whole  lot  of  stuff  that's  positively 
forbidden.  You've  already  scored  a  victory  over 
my  specialists !" 

"  Splendid  ! "  she  cried.  "  Eat  when  you're  hungry 
and  never  think  about  your  food.  Don't  let  a  mere 
piece  of  beef  know  that  you're  a  coward.  Have 
you  ever  committed  murder  ?  You  pale  at  the 
suggestion  and  yet  a  pleasant  little  murder  might 
be  the  very  thing  to  set  you  on  your  feet  again !" 

From  time  to  time  he  caught  Mrs.  Featherstone's 
eyes  fixed  upon  him  approvingly,  and  he  knew  that 
she  was  thinking  that  at  last  he  had  met  a  girl  who 
interested  him.  The  impression  that  he  was  an 
invalid  in  imminent  peril  of  death  caused  his  friends 
and  acquaintances  to  talk  to  him  as  though  he  were 
a  sick  child,  and  it  was  refreshing  to  find  a  girl  .who 
openly  chaffed  him  about  his  health  and  went  the 
length  of  prescribing  a  career  of  riotous  crime  as 
a  cure  for  his  ills.  This  was  enormously  amusing 
for  in  prep  school  and  college  he  had  been  guiltless 
of  the  traditional  pranks  and  in  the  six  years  that 
had  elapsed  since  he  emerged  into  the  world  he  had 
walked  circumspectly  in  the  eyes  of  all  men. 

Isabel  Perry  was  not  afraid  of  him  and  she  didn't 


14       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

treat  him  as  girls  did  who  had  an  idea  that  if  they 
talked  to  him  very  long  he  might  faint  or  even  die 
on  their  hands.  He  noted  her  fine  rounded  arms 
and  supple  fingers  that  spoke  for  strength,  reflecting 
that  very  likely  she  could  pick  him  up  and  pitch  him 
through  the  window.  He  had  always  disliked 
athletic  girls,  fancying  that  they  nodded  to  him 
patronizingly  as  they  passed  him  on  country  club 
verandas  all  aglow  from  golf  or  tennis.  This 
amiable  Isabel  was  quite  capable  of  making  him 
dance  through  a  set  of  tennis  and  with  her  high 
spirits  and  strong  will  might  even  bring  him  out 
alive.  It  was  obvious  that  the  sudden  sweeping 
away  of  her  father's  fortune  had  not  troubled  her 
in  the  least.  He  marveled  at  this,  for  he  had  a  great 
deal  of  money  that  had  been  conferred  upon  him  in 
the  cradle  and  what  he  should  do  if  he  lost  it  was 
a  depressing  possibility  that  had  contributed  not 
a  little  to  his  neurasthenia. 

When  it  came  time  for  Isabel  to  say  good-night 
to  her  hostess  Bennett  was  hovering  near  to  offer  his 
services  in  calling  her  car. 

"Nothing  like  that  for  me  !  I  brought  walking 
shoes  and  shall  foot  it  home,  thank  you.  But  - 
she  hesitated  and  said  with  mock  gravity,  "if  you're 
not  afraid  of  the  night  air  or  the  excessive  fatigue, 
you  might  take  me  home.  That  will  add  a  mile 
to  your  prescription  but  you  can  ride  back!" 

The  other  guests  had  gone  when  she  reappeared, 
wrapped  in  a  long  cloak  and  bearing  a  party-bag 
containing  her  slippers.  She  spoke  of  her  plans  for 
the  summer  with  charming  candor  as  they  set  off" 
at  a  brisk  pace.  Little  bits  of  autobiography  she  let 
fall  interested  him  immensely.  She  was  born  in 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  15 

Wyoming,  where  her  father  had  been  a  ranchman, 
and  she  had  first  known  Mrs.  Featherstone  in 
college.  She  was  enthusiastic  about  the  summer 
camp ;  if  it  succeeded  she  meant  to  conduct  an 
outdoor  school  for  girls,  moving  it  from  Michigan 
to  Florida  with  the  changing  seasons. 

"  People  have  been  so  kind  to  me !  And  I  shall 
have  a  wonderful  lot  of  girls  —  just  think  of  it, - 
one  hundred  dear  young  beings  from  all  over  the 
country.  It's  a  big  responsibility  but  that  land  of 
my  grandfather's  is  a  lovely  site  for  the  camp.  It's 
on  a  bay,  where  the  swimming  will  be  perfectly  safe., 
and  there's  a  wonderful  forest,  with  Indian  trails 
that  run  back  to  Marquette's  time.  We  shall  have 
a  doctor  —  a  woman,  of  course  —  and  two  trained 
nurses  and  some  splendid  young  women  to  act  as 
councilors." 

There  was  no  question  of  her  making  a  success 
of  it,  he  said,  marveling  at  her  vitality,  her  ex 
uberance,  the  confidence  with  which  she  viewed 
the  future. 

"I  wish  you  all  good  luck,"  he  said  when  they 
reached  the  house  of  the  friend  she  was  visiting. 
"The  camp  will  be  a  great  success,  —  I'm  sure  of 
that." 

"Oh,  it's  a  case  of  sink  or  swim  —  I've  got  to 
make  it  go!"  she  replied  with  her  buoyant  laugh. 
"If  I  don't  succeed  I  can't  emerge  from  the  woods 
next  fall  and  face  my  creditors  1" 

"There's  the  buried  treasure ;  you  mustn't  neglect 
that !  I'm  greatly  your  debtor  for  all  the  interesting 
things  you've  told  me.  This  has  been  the  happiest 
evening  I've  spent  since  - 

"Since  you   began   taking   everything   so   hard? 


1 6       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

Please  quit  looking  on  your  life  as  a  burden;  try 
to  get  some  fun  out  of  it ! " 

The  door  opened  to  the  key  she  gave  him  and  the 
light  of  the  hall  lamp  fell  upon  her  face  and  glinted 
her  brown  hair  as  she  put  out  her  hand. 

"  Don't  forget  me  in  the  rush  of  things !  And 
particularly  don't  forget  that  note  of  instructions. 
I'm  counting  on  that  I" 

"Not  really?"  she  exclaimed.  "I  was  just  in 
fun,  you  know." 

"If  I  don't  get  it  before  I  leave  tomorrow  evening, 
I  shall  be  terribly  disappointed.  I  shall  take  it  as  a 
sign  that  you  don't  think  me  worth  bothering  about !" 

There  was  a  pleading  in  his  voice  that  held  her 
for  a  moment;  she  surveyed  him  gravely,  then 
answered  lightly, 

"Oh,  very  well !     You  shall  have  it,  sir  !" 

II 

Archie  didn't  know  that  the  note  caused  Isabel  a 
great  deal  of  trouble.  It  was  one  thing  to  promise 
to  tell  a  man  who  was  all  but  a  stranger  just  how  to 
alter  his  way  of  life  with  a  view  to  a  happier  exist 
ence,  but  to  sit  before  a  sheet  of  white  paper  and 
compose  a  letter  on  the  subject  was  a  very  different 
matter,  as  Isabel's  waste-paper  basket  could  have 
testified.  Her  first  experiments  had  been  very 
serious,  with  urgent  recommendations  of  hard 
physical  labor;  but  this  proved  unsatisfactory. 
Then  she  attacked  it  from  an  ethical  angle  and 
suggested  social  service  as  a  means  of  destroying 
the  selfishness  which  she  honestly  believed  to  be 
one  of  his  troubles. 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  17 

She  scribbled  on  a  pad  the  titles  of  half  a  dozen 
books  designed  for  weary  and  disconsolate  souls, 
but  they  hardly  touched  his  case  and  besides  he 
had  probably  been  deluged  with  just  such  literature. 
Moreover,  she  must  write  a  note  that  would  not 
require  an  answer;  this  she  felt  to  be  imperatively 
demanded  by  the  circumstances.  She  thought 
Archibald  Bennett  a  nice  fellow  and  she  was  sorry 
for  him,  but  no  more  and  no  less  sorry  than  she 
would  have  been  for  any  one  else  who  failed  to  find 
the  world  a  pleasant  place  to  live  in.  Something 
a  little  cryptic,  yet  something  that  would  discourage 
further  confidences  without  wounding  him  —  this 
would  solve  the  problem  —  and  she  spent  an  hour 
turning  over  the  pages  of  a  book  of  quotations 
searching  for  some  stirring  epigrammatic  utterance. 
The  wise  of  all  the  ages  seemed  to  have  been  strangely 
unmindful  of  the  needs  of  neurasthenic  young  men, 
but  finally  she  hit  upon  these  lines  and  copied  them 
in  her  best  hand  :  — 

He  either  fears  his  fate  too  much, 

Or  his  deserts  are  small, 
That  dares  not  put  it  to  the  touch 

To  gain  or  lose  it  all. 

She  wondered  who  the  Marquis  of  Montrose  was 
who  had  lived  in  the  seventeenth  century  and  be 
queathed  this  quatrain  to  posterity,  but  this  didn't 
matter,  and  after  reading  the  lines  aloud  several 
times  she  decided  that  they  would  serve  her  pur 
pose  admirably.  If  Mr.  Bennett  took  them 
seriously,  well  enough ;  and  if  he  didn't  like  them 
it  made  no  difference  as  she  would  probably  never 
meet  him  again. 


1 8  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

She  wrote  on  a  calling  card,  "Best  wishes  and 
good  luck,"  and  put  this  inside  the  note  sheet, 
and  as  the  hour  was  late  she  despatched  it  to  Mr. 
Bennett  by  special  messenger. 

The  note  reached  Archie  just  as  he  was  leaving 
his  sister's  house.  When  he  was  seated  in  the  train 
he  drew  it  out  and  inspected  the  envelope  carefully, 
held  it  to  the  light  and  speculated  fearfully  as  to  the 
nature  of  its  contents.  His  thoughts  had  played 
about  Isabel  Perry  most  of  the  day  and  he  had 
listened  to  his  sister's  enthusiastic  praise  of  her 
with  an  unusual  attention  that  had  not  been  lost 
upon  Mrs.  Featherstone.  He  had  hoped  for  a  long 
letter  in  the  vein  of  the  girl's  chaffing  humor,  and 
the  size  of  the  missive  was  a  distinct  disappointment. 

He  opened  it  guardedly,  and  his. face  fell  as  he 
pondered  the  verse.  It  was  a  neat,  well-bred  slap 
at  him  as  a  man  without  initiative  or  courage.  At 
the  dinner  table  she  had  expressed  much  the  same 
thought  that  was  condensed  in  the  verse,  but  the 
quotation,  unrelieved  by  her  smile,  carried  a  sting. 
He  read  it  over  until  the  lines  marched  with  a 
nimble  step  through  his  memory.  There  was 
something  oddly  haunting  in  them,  and  he  experi 
mented  with  a  variety  of  emphases  and  pauses, 
particularly  as  to  the  last  line,  which  he  found 
might  be  read  in  a  great  number  of  ways.  He 
decided  finally  that  it  was  best  interpreted  by  a 
little  pause  after  "gain,"  with  the  remaining  words 
vanishing  in  a  despondent  sigh.  Perhaps  this  was 
the  way  Isabel  Perry  thought  of  him,  as  a  loser  in 
the  game  of  life;  but  he  experienced  a  pleasant 
tingle  in  the  blood  when  he  reflected  that  this  may 
have  been  the  wrong  reading  and  very  different 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  19 

from  the  sense  she  meant  to  convey.  His  spirits 
soared  as  he  decided  that  the  last  line  was  intended 
to  be  read  unbrokenly  and  that  it  constituted  a 
challenge,  flung  at  him  with  a  toss  of  her  head, 
a  flash  of  the  brown  eyes. 

This  thought  was  wholly  heartening  and  he  dwelt 
upon  it  a  long  time.  She  must  have  thought  him 
capable  of  deeds  of  high  emprise  or  she  would  not 
have  chosen  this  fragment  as  her  last  word  to  him. 
Her  choice  of  a  message  implied  a  certain  faith  that 
he  might,  if  he  chose,  break  the  shackles  of  fear  and 
custom  that  bound  him  and  do  something  that 
would  lift  him  out  of  himself.  The  card  with  the 
good  wishes  gave  a  soothing,  saving  personal  touch 
to  the  communication.  She  had  drawn  the  pen 
across  a  Chicago  street  number  and  supplied  no 
other  address ;  but  after  a  dark  moment  in  which 
he  accepted  this  as  a  delicate  hint  that  the  incident 
was  closed,  he  concluded  that  very  likely  she  had 
deleted  the  address  hastily  for  the  reason  that  she 
was  to  disappear  into  the  woods  for  the  summer. 
Still,  she  might  have  substituted  the  camp  address 
and  he  fretted  over  this  for  an  hour.  She  left  him 
without  excuse  for  a  reply,  and  he  gravely  reflected 
that  the  Marquis  of  Montrose  was  the  only  person 
to  whom  he  could  protest,  but  as  she  had  copied 
from  the  quotation  book  the  figures  "1621-1640" 
and  added  them  to  the  name  for  his  illumination, 
it  was  clearly  impossible  to  ask  the  author  for  an 
interpretation  of  his  stanza. 

Archie  was  lulled  to  sleep  by  the  encouraging 
thought  that  what  she  had  done  was  to  give  him 
a  commission  to  redeem  himself  by  strange  and 
moving  adventures,  and  he  dreamed  that  he  had 


20       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

climbed  to  the  remote  fastnesses  of  the  Rockies 
and  captured  a  mountain  sheep  alive  and  walked 
into  his  sister's  house  with  the  animal  under  his 
arm  and  presented  it  to  Miss  Perry  at  the  tea  table. 

He  changed  trains  at  Boston  and  again  at  Ports 
mouth,  where  he  checked  his  bag.  At  two  o'clock 
he  reached  Bailey  Harbor,  where  he  verified  his 
memorandum  as  to  the  return  trip  and  found  the 
telegram  he  expected  from  the  New  York  brokerage 
office  in  which  he  was  a  silent  partner,  saying  that 
his  booking  for  Banff  had  been  changed  as  re 
quested.  He  never  took  the  chance  of  being  stuffed 
into  an  upper  berth,  or  riding  in  a  day  coach,  and 
he  congratulated  himself  upon  his  forethought  and 
the  ease  with  which  he  was  proceeding  upon  his 
sister's  errand. 

He  stepped  into  the  only  taxi  in  sight  and  drove 
to  the  village  druggist's  for  the  key  to  the  Congdon 
house. 

"Just  go  in  and  take  your  time  to  it,"  said  the 
man.  "Lights  and  water  haven't  been  turned  off 
and  if  you  take  the  house  your  folks  can  step  right 
in.  Mrs.  Congdon  left  only  yesterday.  Suppose 
you'll  be  going  on  the  five  eleven;  it's  your  only 
chance  of  getting  back  to  Boston  tonight.  If  you 
don't  find  it  convenient  to  stop  here  again,  just  leave 
the  key  under  the  door  mat." 

"I  guess  you'll  find  the  place  all  shipshape,"  said 
the  driver,  as  they  set  off.  "Folks  came  up  early 
but  didn't  stay  long.  Left  in  a  hurry;  kind  o' 
funny,  skippin'  the  way  they  did." 

"There  hadn't  been  sickness  in  the  family?" 
asked  Archie,  apprehensively  thinking  that  he  might 
be  stumbling  into  infection. 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  21 

"Lord  no!  Family  troubles,  I  reckon!  They 
been  comin'  here  a  long  time  and  usually  came 
earlier  and  stayed  later  than  anybody  else.  I 
don't  know  nothin',  mind  ye,  but  there's  talk  she 
had  trouble  with  her  husband." 

"You  mean  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Congdon  have  sepa 
rated?" 

"I'm  sayin'  nothin' !  But  the  Congdons  are  all 
queer.  His  pap  used  to  have  a  house  here  and  he 
was  the  worst  ole  crank  on  the  shore.  Young 
Putney's  a  pretty  decent  fellow.  Mighty  fine 
woman,  his  wife.  Everybody  likes  her." 

The  confidences  of  the  weatherbeaten  chauffeur 
only  mildly  interested  Archie,  who  was  bent  upon 
inspecting  the  house  as  quickly  as  possible  with 
a  view  to  footing  it  back  to  the  station,  and 
thus  crediting  two  miles  to  the  day's  exercise 
account.  It  was  unseasonably  warm  and  the  air 
was  lifeless  and  humid. 

"Think  it  will  rain  ?"  asked  Archie. 

"Yep,"  replied  the  driver  with  a  glance  at  the 
sea.  "There's  goin'  to  be  a  lively  kick-up  before 


morninV 


Archie  eyed  his  top-coat  and  umbrella  with  the 
pardonable  satisfaction  of  a  man  who  travels  pre 
pared  for  all  weathers.  To  follow  the  shore  path 
in  the  teeth  of  a  storm  would  do  much  toward  es 
tablishing  his  self-confidence  and  prove  that  he  was 
not  a  mollycoddle.  Isabel  Perry  and  her  note  were 
firmly  imbedded  in  his  subconsciousness  and  were 
causing  curious  slips  and  shifts  of  his  mental  ma 
chinery.  Certain  of  her  utterances  at  his  sister's 
table  rankled,  and  his  thousandth  conjecture  about 
the  note  was  that  it  mocked  his  weaknesses  and 


22       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

defied  him  to  prove  that  he  was  far  from  being  the 
worthless  social  parasite  she  believed  him  to  be. 


Ill 

He  discharged  the  driver  and  in  a  moment  was 
standing  in  a  big  living-room  that  exhaled  an  at 
mosphere  of  comfort  and  good  taste.  On  every 
hand  were  the  evidences  of  a  hasty  abandonment 
of  the  house  by  its  recent  occupants.  A  waste- 
paper  basket  by  a  writing  table  in  one  corner  over 
flowed  with  scraps  of  discarded  letters ;  the  family 
had  evidently  snatched  a  hasty  luncheon  before 
leaving  and  the  dining  table  had  not  been  cleared. 
A  doll  lay  sprawled  on  the  landing  as  he  made  his 
way  upstairs,  and  in  the  bed  chambers  empty 
chiffonier  drawers  gaped  as  though  from  sur 
prise  at  their  hasty  evacuation.  He  made  a  survey 
of  the  whole  premises  and  then  went  through  again 
from  cellar  to  garret  checking  off  his  sister's  queries. 
There  was  something  disconcerting  in  the  intense 
silence  of  the  place  broken  only  by  the  periodic 
thump  of  the  sea  at  the  base  of  the  cliff. 

The  house  would  serve  the  Featherstones  ad 
mirably.  There  was  even  the  sleeping  porch  open 
ing  from  the  nursery  that  his  sister  had  expressly 
stipulated  and  a  tiny  retreat  back  of  the  living- 
room  with  desk  and  shelves  that  would  meet  the 
requirements  of  his  congressman  brother-in-law  at 
such  times  as  he  might  find  it  possible  to  join  his 
family. 

Fully  satisfied  with  his  investigations,  Archie 
picked  up  a  book  with  a  paper-cutter  thrust  through 
it  to  mark  the  place  of  its  last  reader,  became  ab- 


BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP !  23 

sorbed  and  read  until  he,  was  roused  by  a  clap  of 
thunder  that  seemed  to  shake  the  world.  Hurrying 
to  the  window  he  found  that  the  storm  had  already 
broken.  There  was  a  greenish  light  over  the  sea 
and  the  waves  had  begun  to  smite  the  rocks  with 
dismaying  ferocity.  To  catch  the  five  eleven  he 
would  have  to  leave  at  once,  and  he  seized  his 
belongings  and  opened  the  door,  but  upon  stepping 
out  upon  the  veranda  the  walk  he  had  contemplated 
along  the  shore  path  to  the  village  seemed  a  fool 
hardy  thing  to  undertake.  An  unearthly  darkness 
had  fallen  upon  the  world  and  a  misstep  in  the 
rough  path  over  the  rocks  might  pitch  him  head 
long  into  the  sea.  He  had  marked  the  presence 
of  a  telephone  in  the  house  and  decided  to  summon 
a  taxi,  but  as  he  clapped  the  receiver  to  his  ear  he 
was  startled  by  a  blinding  glare  and  the  crack  of  a 
mighty  whip  overhead.  He  snatched  the  instru 
ment  again  and  bawled  into  it,  but  it  was  buzzing 
queerly  and  he  sprang  away  from  it  as  another 
glare  lit  up  the  room. 

He  turned  on  the  lights  and  sat  down  to  think. 
He  might  return  by  the  highway  over  which  he  had 
reached  the  house,  but  the  driver  had  told  him  it 
was  the  longer  way.  The  roof  and  walls  rang  under 
the  downpour  and  he  decided  that  after  all  to  spend 
the  night  in  an  abandoned  house  would  be  fully  as 
heroic  as  to  subject  himself  to  the  ruthless  fury  of 
the  hurricane.  It  would  be  a  lark  to  camp  in  the 
Congdon  villa,  a  break  in  the  deadly  routine  of  his 
days  which  Isabel  Perry  had  pointed  out  as  a  possible 
cause  of  his  invalidism.  He  rnade  himself  com 
fortable  and  studied  the  sheaf  of  time  tables  he  had 
brought  with  him,  methodically  formulating  the 


24       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

messages  he  would  be  obliged  to  despatch  in  the 
morning  to  change  his  westward  passage. 

The  storm  showed  no  sign  of  abating  and  as 
nightfall  deepened  the  gloom  he  set  the  broad  fire 
place  in  the  living-room  glowing,  drew  the  shades, 
and  feeling  twinges  of  hunger  explored  the  kitchen 
pantry.  The  Congdons  had  left  a  well-stocked 
larder  and,  finding  bacon,  eggs  and  bread,  he  de 
cided  that  the  cooking  of  a  supper  would  be  a  jolly 
incident  of  the  adventure.  He  laid  aside  his  coat 
and  rolling  up  his  sleeves  soon  had  a  fire  going  in 
the  range,  which  smoked  hideously  until  he  mastered 
the  dampers.  He  removed  the  dishes  that  had  been 
left  on  the  dining-room  table  and  carefully  laid  a 
cover  for  one.  The  roses  in  a  bowl  that  served  as 
a  centerpiece  were  still  fresh  and  were  a  pathetic 
reminder  of  the  mistress  of  the  house.  In  rearrang 
ing  the  table  he  found  a  telegram  under  a  plate  at 
what  he  assumed  to  be  Mrs.  Congdon's  place.  To 
read  a  message  not  intended  for  his  eyes  was  de 
cidedly  against  his  strict  code,  but  his  curiosity 
overcame  his  scruples  and  these  words  met  his 
eyes  : 

New  York,  June  10,  1917. 
Mrs.  Alice  B.  Congdon, 

Bailey  Harbor,  Maine. 

Your  letter  has  your  characteristic  touch  of  cruelty. 
We  may  as  well  part  now  and  be  done  with  it.  But 
the  children  you  cannot  have.  Remember  that  I  re 
linquish  none  of  my  rights  on  this  point.  I  demand 
that  you  surrender  Edith  at  once  and  I  will  communi 
cate  with  you  later  about  the  custody  of  Harold  until 
such  time  as  he  is  old  enough  to  come  to  me. 

Putney  Congdon, 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       2$ 

The  cautious  hint  of  the  taxi  driver  that  domestic 
difficulties  were  responsible  for  the  breaking  up  of 
the  Congdon  household  found  here  a  painful  cor- 
roboration.  He  chivalrously  took  sides  at  once 
with  the  unhappy  Alice ;  no  matter  how  shrewish 
the  absconding  wife  might  be,  only  a  brute  of  a 
husband  would  fling  such  a  message  at  her  head. 
Archie  hated  discord ;  the  very  thought  of  it  was 
abhorrent.  He  had  never  had  a  care  in  his  life 
beyond  his  health,  and  quarrels  of  every  sort  he 
left  to  underbred  people  with  evil  tempers.  Here  was 
a  furious  lunatic  telegraphing  his  wife  of  the  severance 
of  the  most  sacred  of  ties  and  demanding  the  immedi 
ate  transfer  of  one  child  to  his  possession  and  relin 
quishing  only  temporarily  the  custody  of  the  other, 
presumably  younger  and  the  lawful  owner  of  the  doll 
he  had  picked  up  on  the  stair  landing. 

He  now  visualized  the  whole  scene  that  followed 
upon  the  receipt  of  the  telegram ;  the  hurried,  tearful 
packing,  the  bewildered  children,  the  panic-struck 
servants  rushing  about  obeying  the  orders  of  a 
hysterical  mistress.  The  more  he  thought  of  it  the 
warmer  became  his  defensive  attitude  toward  the 
unknown  Alice.  She  had  met  the  situation  like  a 
woman  of  quick  decisions,  —  perhaps  she  was  a 
little  too  unyielding  and  this  had  caused  the  rup 
ture  ;  but  no  man  worthy  to  be  called  a  gentleman 
would  commit  to  the  wires  so  heartless  a  message 
directed  at  the  mother  of  his  children. 

His  attention  had  been  arrested  several  times  by  a 
photograph  of  a  young  girl,  of  eleven  or  twelve,  set 
in  a  silver  frame  on  the  living-room  table,  whom  he 
assumed  to  be  the  Edith  mentioned  in  the  telegram. 
She  was  a  lovely  child,  with  a  wealth  of  hair  falling 


26  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

about  her  shoulders,  and  roguish  eyes  that  looked  at 
him  teasingly.  It  was  a  thoroughly  feminine  face 
with  an  unusual  perfection  of  line.  Very  likely  the 
child  was  the  reembodiment  of  her  mother  who 
must,  he  thought,  be  a  very  handsome  woman 
indeed.  His  resentment  hardened  against  the  hus 
band  and  father,  the  author  of  the  brutal  message 
that  disposed  of  his  marital  obligations  as  coolly  as 
though  he  had  been  canceling  an  order  for  a  carload  of 
merchandise,  as  he  held  up  the  picture  for  the  joy  of 
meeting  the  gaze  of  the  merry  eyes. 

Though  the  breaking  of  eggs  into  the  skillet  had 
proved  a  fearsome  matter  and  the  bacon  sizzled 
strangely,  the  cooking  had  proved  much  simpler  than 
he  had  believed  possible.  He  burnt  his  fingers 
handling  the  toaster,  but  after  ruining  a  considerable 
quantity  of  bread  he  produced  three  slices  of  toast 
that  were  the  equal  of  any  offered  by  his  favorite 
club.  As  usual  when  frustrated  in  his  plans  (some 
thing  that  had  rarely  happened  in  his  whole  life) 
he  made  the  most  of  the  situation,  eating  slowly 
while  the  rain  poured  in  an  unbroken  sheet  down 
the  windows.  He  wished  Isabel  could  see  him 
and  know  that  for  once  the  routine  of  his  life  had 
been  interrupted  only  to  find  him  resourceful  and 
the  easy  master  of  his  fate. 

He  made  a  point  of  washing  the  dishes  and  cook 
ing  utensils  and  putting  them  carefully  away. 
These  matters  attended  to,  he  roamed  over  the 
house  which  now  had  a  new  interest  for  him  since 
the  Congdon  family  skeleton  had  come  out  of  its 
closet  and  danced  round  the  dinner  table.  In  one 
way  and  another  he  found  it  possible  to  make  a  fair 
acquaintance  with  the  late  inmates  of  the  house. 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  27 

In  a  bedroom  adjoining  the  nursery  there  were 
books  in  abundance,  and  very  good  books  they 
were  —  essays,  poetry,  a  few  of  those  novels  that 
appeal  only  to  sophisticated  readers,  and  children's 
books,  including  a  volume  of  Bible  stories  retold  for 
the  young.  He  could  readily  imagine  Mrs.  Congdon 
reading  aloud  from  these  volumes  to  her  youngsters 
as  they  stood  beside  the  wicker  rocker  in  the 
bay-window.  Only  a  few  hours  earlier  the  house 
had  rung  with  the  happy  laughter  of  children;  he 
fancied  he  could  hear  them  calling  to  their  mother 
up  the  stair.  Mrs.  Congdon  was  a  blonde,  he  de 
cided,  from  the  presence  in  a  closet  of  a  blue  peignoir 
overlooked  in  her  flight  and  a  bolt  of  blue  ribbon 
that  had  rolled  under  the  bed  as  though  seeking 
refuge  from  the  general  confusion. 

In  the  adjoining  room  he  sought  traces  of  the 
hard-hearted  husband,  but  in  his  departure,  pre 
sumably  sometime  earlier,  Congdon  had  made  a 
clean  sweep;  there  was  nothing  to  afford  a  clue 
to  his  character  beyond  a  four-in-hand  tie  whose 
colors  struck  Archie  as  execrable.  Below  in  the 
snuggery  fitted  up  for  masculine  use  was  a  table, 
containing  a  humidor  half  filled  with  dried-up 
cigars,  and  an  ill-smelling  pipe  —  Archie  hated 
pipes  —  and  a  box  of  cigarettes.  A  number  of 
scientific  magazines  lay  about  and  a  forbidding 
array  of  books  on  mechanics  and  chemistry  over 
flowed  the  shelves.  He  threw  open  a  cabinet  filled 
with  blue  prints  illustrating  queer  mechanical  con 
trivances.  They  struck  him  as  very  silly  and  he 
slammed  the  thing  shut  in  disgust,  convinced  that 
Congdon  was  a  crank,  or  he  wouldn't  have  indulged 
in  such  foolishness.  In  a  drawer  of  the  desk  was 


28       BLACKSHEEP !  BLACKSHEEP ! 

an  automatic  pistol  and  a  box  of  cartridges.  At  a 
country  house  where  he  once  week-ended  a  burglar 
scare  had  inspired  feverish  intensive  pistol  practice 
among  the  guests  and  Archie  had  learned  to  load 
and  fire  and  even  developed  some  skill  as  a  marks 
man.  There  were  three  cartridges  in  the  magazine 
and  Archie  thrust  it  into  his  pocket  thinking  it 
not  a  bad  idea  to  be  prepared  for  invasion. 

He  was  oppressed  with  a  fleeting  sense  of  his 
isolation  as  he  drew  back  a  shade  and  pressed  his 
face  to  the  pane.  The  house  stood  at  the  edge  of 
the  summer  colony  and  a  considerable  distance 
from  its  nearest  neighbor.  The  landward  horizon 
still  brightened  at  intervals  with  a  languid  mockery 
of  lightning,  dimmed  by  the  fog  that  was  dragging 
in  from  the  sea.  The  siren  in  the  harbor  had  begun- 
its  mournful  iterations,  and  he  caught  the  occasional 
flash  of  the  revolving  light  that  gleamed  now  and 
then  through  breaks  in  the  fog. 

He  switched  off  the  lights  in  the  lower  rooms  and 
established  himself  in  the  guest  chamber.  The 
bed  had  been  dismantled  but  he  found  blankets 
and  linen  and  addressed  himself  to  the  novel  task 
of  making  a  couch  for  himself.  If  he  had  consulted 
his  pleasure  in  advance  he  would  have  shrunk  from 
camping  in  a  lonely  seaside  house  for  a  night;  but 
now  that  the  experience  was  forced  upon  him  he 
was  surprised  to  find  that  he  was  not  afraid.  The 
revelation  was  an  agreeable  one.  He,  Archibald 
Bennett,  was  a  perfectly  normal  being,  capable  of 
rising  to  emergencies ;  and  when  he  saw  Isabel 
Perry  again,  as  he  had  every  intention  of  doing  at 
the  end  of  the  summer,  this  little  trip  to  Bailey 
Harbor  would  make  a  very  pretty  story  which 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       29 

could  not  fail  to  convince  her  of  his  fortitude  and 
courage. 

Sleeping  in  his  underwear  was  distasteful  but  this 
was  only  another  small  item  that  proved  his  resolute 
fiber  and  ability  to  accept  conditions  as  he  found 
them.  He  opened  the  windows  and  performed  his 
usual  before-retiring  calisthenics,  tested  the  read 
ing  lamp  beside  the  bed,  placed  the  pistol  within 
easy  reach  and  became  absorbed  in  a  volume  of 
short  stories. 

He  read  the  book  through,  put  out  the  light  and 
was  half  asleep  when  he  was  roused  by  footsteps  on 
the  veranda  below. 

IV 

It  was  close  upon  midnight  and  the  presence  of  a 
prowler  on  the  premises  caused  his  heart  to  gallop 
wildly.  He  seized  the  pistol,  crept  to  the  window 
and  peered  cautiously  out.  Between  the  crash  of 
the  breakers  he  listened  intently  and  had  decided 
that  the  steps  had  been  the  illusion  of  a  dream 
when  a  sound  in  the  room  below  renewed  his  alarm. 
He  gained  the  door  in  two  jumps.  He  could  hear 
the  opening  and  closing  of  drawers  and  see  the  flash 
of  an  electric  lamp  as  the  thief  moved  swiftly  about, 
apparently  taking  it  for  granted  that  he  had  the 
house  to  himself.  The  swish  of  the  swing-door 
between  dining-room  and  pantry  marked  his  in 
vestigations  in  the  rear  of  the  house.  He  evidently 
found  nothing  there,  for  he  was  back  in  the  hall 
again  in  a  moment.  Then  through  the  vast  silence 
of  the  big  house  the  unknown  gave  voice  to  his  anger 
and  disappointment : 

"Well,  I'll  be  damned!" 


30       BLACKSHEEP !  BLACKSHEEP ! 

This,  reaching  Archie  very  clearly,  added  nothing 
to  his  comfort.  He  debated  making  a  dash  for 
the  switch  and  flooding  the  lower  rooms  with 
light,  but  a  burglar  angrily  damning  himself  for 
his  stupidity  in  entering  a  house  where  plated 
silver  was  the  only  booty  in  sight  was  not  a  person 
to  provoke  unnecessarily.  Then  a  series  of  quick 
flashes  on  the  wall  of  the  stair  gave  warning  of  the 
intruder's  invasion  of  the  upper  rooms. 

Archie  drew  back  and  waited.  His  thoughts  and 
emotions  in  this  hour  of  danger  interested  him.  He 
had  always  imagined  that  he  would  collapse  in  any 
moment  of  peril.  The  fingers  of  his  left  hand  sought 
the  wrist  of  his  right  that  grasped  the  automatic 
and  while  his  heart  was  still  beating  quickly  the 
pulse  was  regular.  This  was  immensely  gratifying 
and  he  resolved  to  report  the  fact  to  his  medical 
counselor  at  the  first  opportunity. 

The  thief  had  become  more  cautious  and  was 
tiptoeing  up  the  uncarpeted  treads  of  the  stair, 
still  sending  occasionally  a  bar  of  light  ahead.  All 
the  doors  of  the  bedrooms  stood  open,  Archie  re 
membered,  and  the  thief  would  not  be  long  in 
discovering  that  the  recent  occupants  had  left 
behind  them  nothing  of  the  slightest  value.  His 
courage  was  mounting;  he  was  enormously  sur 
prised  to  find  that  his  hands  were  quite  steady,  and 
his  mind  had  never  functioned  more  perfectly. 
The  burglar  was  now  in  Mrs.  Congdon's  room, 
where  he  stumbled  over  a  chair  that  rocked  furiously 
until  stilled  by  the  invader.  He  was  now  coming 
boldly  down  the  hall  as  though  satisfied  that  the 
house  was  empty.  A  flash  of  his  lamp  fell  upon 
the  door  frame  just  above  Archie's  left  hand. 


BLACKSHEEP!     BLACKSHEEP!  31 

He  crawled  hastily  across  the  bed  and  swung  round 
and  waited  with  his  back  against  a  chiffonier  in  the 
corner,  sternly  resolved  that  not  without  a  struggle 
would  he  be  shot  and  his  body  left  lying  crumpled 
in  a  corner  with  no  one  to  tell  the  tale.  He  had  the 
advantage  of  the  knowledge  of  the  enemy's  approach, 
and  he  raised  the  gun  and  covered  the  door  in  readi 
ness.  A  flash  clipped  the  dark  for  an  instant.  Then 
a  hand  groped  along  the  wall  seeking  the  switch. 
Archie  could  hear  its  soft  rasping  over  the  wall. 
As  the  switch  snapped  the  room  flooded  with  light. 
The  bewildering  glare  leaping  out  of  the  darkness 
held  the  man  in  the  doorway  and  he  raised  his  arm 
and  passed  his  hand  over  his  eyes  to  shield  them  from 
the  light. 

Between  the  front  windows  stood  a  long  mirror 
swung  in  a  movable  frame,  and  as  he  measured 
distances  and  calculated  chances  Archie  found  him 
self  staring  at  the  reflection  of  a  tall  man  with  a 
cap  pulled  low  over  his  head  and  with  the  collar 
of  a  yellowish  raincoat  turned  up  about  his  face. 
The  eyes  of  the  two  met,  the  gaze  of  each  gripping 
and  holding  that  of  the  other. 

The  burglar's  shoulders  drooped  as  he  gaped  at 
the  mirrored  apparition.  Then  swiftly  he  jerked  a 
pistol  from  his  pocket  and  fired  point  blank  into  the 
mirror.  The  report  crashed  horribly  in  the  room, 
followed  by  the  tinkle  of  fragments  of  glass.  Archie 
aimed  at  the  doorway,  but  his  shot  seemed  only  to 
hasten  the  man's  flight.  A  rug  slipped  and  the 
fugitive  fell  with  a  frightened  yell  that  rang  eerily 
through  the  house. 

In  the  hall  Archie  turned  on  all  the  lights  and 
gaining  the  landing  fired  at  the  retreating  figure 


32  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

as  it  plunged  toward  the  front  door.  At  the  crack 
of  the  gun  the  fugitive  stopped  short,  clapped  his 
hand  to  his  shoulder  and  groaned,  then  sprang 
through  the  front  door  and  Bennett  heard  im 
mediately  the  quick  patter  of  his  feet  on  the  walk. 

The  lock  bore  no  evidence  of  having  been  forced. 
It  was  a  curious  business  and  Archie  closed  the  door, 
placed  a  heavy  chair  against  it,  and  feeling  a  little 
giddy  he  threw  himself  down  on  a  davenport  in  the 
living-room.  He  began  thinking  very  hard.  He 
had  shot  a  man  and  for  all  he  knew  the  victim 
might  be  lying  dead  somewhere  on  the  premises. 
To  be  sure  the  shooting  of  an  armed  housebreaker 
was  justifiable,  but  the  thought  of  coroner's  in 
quests  and  dairyings  with  the  police  filled  him  with 
horror.  The  newspapers  would  seize  upon  the  case 
with  avidity,  and  his  friends  would  never  cease 
twitting  him  about  his  valor  in  firing  a  bullet  into 
the  back  of  a  fleeing  burglar. 

The  frame  of  the  photograph  of  the  young  girl 
that  had  so  charmed  him  lay  on  the  floor  face  down. 
Bennett  picked  it  up  and  found  that  the  picture 
had  been  removed.  He  wondered  a  little  at  this 
but  dismissed  the  subject  from  his  mind  to  consider 
the  graver  business  of  how  to  avoid  the  disagreeable 
consequences  of  his  encounter.  He  must  leave  the 
house  and  escape  from  Bailey  Harbor  before  daybreak, 
and  he  went  upstairs  and  hurriedly  began  dressing. 

But  for  the  tangible  evidence  of  the  smashed 
mirror  (the  bullet  had  pierced  the  wooden  back 
and  was  imbedded  in  the  wall  behind  it)  he  might 
have  dismissed  the  whole  thing  as  a  nightmare. 
Instinctively  he  began  building  up  an  alibi  and 
planning  his  flight.  The  druggist  who  had  given 


At  the  crack  of  the  gun  the  fugitive  stopped  short 


BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP !  3  3 

him  the  key  and  the  taxi  driver  both  supposed  that 
he  had  inspected  the  house  and  taken  the  evening 
train  for  Boston.  As  he  got  into  his  clothes  he 
decided  to  make  a  wide  detour  of  the  town,  perhaps 
tramping  on  to  Portsmouth,  and  there  recover  his 
bag  and  be  off  for  the  Rockies. 

At  one  o'clock  he  was  drinking  coffee  and  munch 
ing  toast  and  jam  to  fortify  himself  for  his  journey. 
He  had  shot  and  perhaps  killed  a  man,  and  his 
mind  surged  now  with  self-accusations.  He  needn't 
have  fired  the  shot  —  the  thief  was  running  away 
and  very  likely  would  not  have  molested  him  further. 
He  was  sorry  for  the  fellow,  wounded  or  dead ;  but 
in  a  moment  he  was  shuddering  as  he  reflected  that 
the  bullet  that  splintered  the  mirror  had  really 
been  meant  for  him,  and  it  had  struck  with  great 
precision  just  where  the  reflection  of  his  head  had 
presented  a  fair  target  to  the  startled  marksman. 

He  turned  out  the  lights  and  placing  the  key 
under  the  door  mat  stole  through  the  garden.  The 
man  he  had  shot  might  even  now  be  lying  dead  in 
his  path,  and  he  lifted  his  feet  high  to  avoid  stum 
bling  over  the  corpse.  But  more  appalling  was  the 
thought  that  the  fugitive  might  be  lying  in  ambush, 
and  he  carried  his  pistol  before  him  at  arm's  length 
against  such  an  emergency. 

He  gained  the  road,  glanced  toward  the  house 
and  set  off  in  the  general  direction  of  the  New 
Hampshire  border. 


There  was  neither  star  nor  moon,  and  a  chill  wet 
wind  bore  in  from  the  sea.  His  immediate  business 
was  to  get  as  far  away  from  Bailey  Harbor  as  possible. 


34       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

He  started  with  a  long  swinging  stride  that  was 
quickly  arrested  as  he  splashed  through  pools  left 
by  the  rain  or  stumbled  off  the  road  where  it  turned 
sharply.  Once  he  wandered  into  a  driveway  and 
seeking  a  way  out  crashed  into  a  sunken  garden. 
His  feet  were  wet  and  his  trousers  flapped  heavily 
about  his  legs.  The  shrubbery  pricked  him  like 
barbed  wire  and  a  scratch  along  his  cheek  bled  most 
disagreeably.  He  hurriedly  felt  his  way  along  a 
hedge  to  the  highway,  hating  himself  with  the 
greatest  cordiality.  If  this  was  the  adventurous 
life  it  was  not  for  him,  and  he  solemnly  resolved 
that  if  he  didn't  die  of  pneumonia  as  the  result  of 
his  indiscretions  he  would  stick  close  to  clubs  .and 
comfortable  hotels  for  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

He  had  no  way  of  keeping  track  of  his  progress, 
but  on  bumping  into  a  cross-roads  sign-board  he 
struck  a  match  and  read  "Bailey  Harbor  5  M.," 
and  the  discovery  that  only  five  miles  lay  between 
him  and  the  Congdon  house  filled  him  with  rage 
and  terror.  A  little  later  he  caught  the  first  glimmer 
of  dawn  breaking  over  a  gray  world.  This  was 
heartening  but  it  brought  also  new  dangers  for  he 
had  no  idea  of  where  his  tramp  had  brought  him 
and  mud-splashed  as  he  was  and  with  the  scratch 
across  his  face  stinging  uncomfortably,  he  was  in 
no  haste  to  meet  the  strangers  who  would  soon  be 
passing  him  in  the  road. 

A  curious  whistle,  a  long  pipe  and  then  a  short 
quick  one,  in  the  roadside  a  little  way  ahead  brought 
him  to  a  halt.  He  drew  the  gun  from  his  overcoat 
pocket  and  stood  perfectly  quiet.  In  a  few  seconds 
the  whistle  was  repeated  and  Archie,  grown  suddenly 
bold,  checked  an  impulse  to  fly  and  imitated  it. 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       35 

A  man  rose  from  behind  a  stone  wall  on  the  right 
and  walked  toward  him. 

"That  you,  Hoky?"  he  called  sharply,  peering 
through  the  mist. 

Seeing  that  it  was  not  Hoky  but  a  stranger  with 
a  pistol,  he  sprang  forward  and  wrenched  the  gun 
from  Archie's  hand. 

"Stop  squealing!  Bad  enough  for  you  to  fool  me 
with  that  whistle  without  pulling  a  gun.  Now  you 
get  right  over  there  by  the  fence  where  I'm  pointing 
and  we'll  consider  matters  a  little!" 

"I  was  just  walking  to  Portsmouth,"  began  Archie 
in  a  blithe  tone  he  hoped  would  prove  convincing. 

His  captor  laughed  ironically,  and  throwing  open 
Bennett's  coat,  demanded : 

"Where's  your  badge  ?  Don't  lie  to  me  !  You're 
one  of  these  village  constables  or  a  plainclothes  man 
from  Boston.  Either  way  you'd  better  show  your 
hand." 

"If  you  think  I'm  connected  with  the  police," 
Archie  faltered,  "you  were  never  more  mistaken  in 
your  life!" 

The  man  clapped  his  hands  over  Archie's  pockets 
and  then  struck  a  match  and  surveyed  his  face  with 
care.  This  done  he  stuck  his  nose  close  to  his 
captive's  mouth  and  bade  him  breathe. 

"You  haven't  the  bouquet  of  an  inebriate,  son. 
You  stepped  along  like  Hoky,  my  pal,  and  that's 
why  I  whistled ;  and  you  warbled  the  answer  like 
a  mockingbird.  Now  listen  to  me !  You've  been 
up  to  something,  so  don't  tell  me  again  that  you're 
taking  a  little  before  breakfast  stroll  to  Portsmouth 
to  work  up  an  appetite.  In  the  first  place,  have  you 
seen  a  man  about  your  size  along  the  road  anywhere  ? " 


36       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

"Not  a  soul !"  declared  Archie  solemnly. 

"Mighty  queer  Hoky  doesn't  turn  up  !  I  warned 
the  beggar  against  these  sea-side  villas ;  they're  all 
outfitted  with  fancy  burglar  alarms  that  make  a 
deuce  of  a  row  when  you  step  on  the  wire.  Elec 
tricity  is  the  bane  of  the  craft;  you  light'  a  wire 
that  rings  a  gong  loud  enough  to  wake  the  dead 
and  then  some  chap  jumps  out  of  bed  and  turns  on 
all  the  lights  in  the  house  and  very  likely  opens  up 
with  a  gun  before  you  can  say  Jerusalem.  But 
Hoky  thought  he  knew  better." 

Archie  clutched  at  the  stone  fence  against  which 
his  captor  had  pushed  him  and  his  breath  came  in 
long  gasps. 

"You  mean,"  he  faltered,  "that  you  fear  your 
friend  has  been  shot !" 

"That,  my  dear  sir,  is  exactly  what  troubles  me! 
Hoky  didn't  need  to  do  it;  that's  what  rouses  my 
indignation  !  He's  been  running  free  for  two  years, 
and  not  a  thing  against  him  —  wiped  out  all  his 
indictments  with  good  time  like  an  honest  thief, 
and  now  very  likely  he's  been  potted  by  some 
large  prosperous  householder  as  he  was  trying  to 
lift  a  bit  of  silver;  and  these  country  houses  never 
have  anything  worth  risking  your  life  for !  My 
dear  boy,  can  you  blame  me  for  being  peeved, 
enormously  peeved,  when  I  reflect  that  Hoky,  one 
of  the  best  pals  in  the  world,  is  probably  lying  as 
dead  as  a  pickled  mackerel  somewhere  back  yonder  ? 
Or  if  he  has  escaped  death  in  his  felonious  enter 
prise  he  may  have  met  the  constable  and  be  await 
ing  the  pleasure  of  a  grand  jury  of  righteous  farmers 
of  the  old  commonwealth  of  Maine  !" 

Archie's  tongue  clung  to  the  roof  of  his  mouth  as 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       37 

he  tried  to  murmur  his  sympathy  for  the  stranger's 
sorrow.  The  thought  that  he  was  probably  talking  to 
the  accomplice  of  the  man  he  had  shot  was  terrify 
ing;  the  stranger  seemed  enormously  fond  of  Hoky 
and  if  he  knew  that  he  had  within  his  grasp  the 
person  who  was  responsible  for  Hoky's  failure  to  re 
turn  from  his  visit  to  Bailey  Harbor  he  would  very 
likely  make  haste  to  avenge  his  friend's  death.  It 
seemed  to  Archie  that  the  gods  were  playing  strange 
tricks  upon  him  indeed.  The  man's  speech  was  not 
the  argot  he  had  assumed  from  his  reading  of  crook 
stories  to  be  the  common  utterance  of  the  under 
world.  There  was  something  attractive  in  the 
fellow.  He  carried  himself  jauntily,  and  his  clean 
shaven,  rounded  face  and  fine  gray  eyes  would 
not  have  suggested  his  connection  with  bur 
glary.  He  was  an  engaging  sort  of  person,  and  over 
coming  his  discomfiture  at  having  sent  a  bullet 
into  the  foolish  Hoky,  Archie  decided  suddenly 
that  the  man  might  be  of  service  to  him.  He  was 
in  pressing  need  of  a  change  of  clothes  but  he  was 
in  no  condition  to  proceed  to  Portsmouth  to  redeem 
his  suitcase ;  an  impression  that  was  confirmed  un 
expectedly  by  his  captor. 

"You  will  pardon  my  candor,  but  you  certainly 
look  like  the  devil.  There's  a  rip  in  your  trousers 
that  needs  explaining  and  that  swipe  on  your  face 
reminds  me  of  a  map  of  the  Mississippi  done  in  red 
ink.  Let  me  introduce  myself  to  you  as  the  Gov 
ernor.  Among  the  powers  that  prey  that  is  my  proud 
cognomen,  not  to  say  alias.  Now  please  be  frank  — 
what  mischief  brings  you  here  at  this  pale  hour?" 

Archie  gave  serious  thought  to  his  answer.     If  he 
could  convince  this  singular  person  that  he  was  a 


3  8  BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP ! 

crook  he  would  be  less  likely  to  suspect  that  he 
had  been  the  instrument  of  Hoky's  undoing.  And 
there  was  the  possibility  that  if  he  met  the  Gover 
nor's  friendly  advances  in  a  reciprocal  spirit  the 
man  might  help  him  out  of  his  predicament.  The 
Governor  was  waiting  for  his  answer,  humming 
pleasantly  as  he  surveyed  the  heavens. 

"I've  got  to  make  a  getaway  and  be  in  a  hurry 
about  it,"  declared  Archie  with  a  confidential  air 
that  caused  a  humorous  light  to  play  in  the  Gov 
ernor's  eyes. 

"A  little  trouble  of  some  sort,  eh  ?  Perhaps 
fearing  a  collision  with  the  revised  statutes  of  this 
or  adjacent  states  ?" 

"Something  like  that,"  Archie  answered  huskily. 

"It  rather  occurred  to  me  that  you  were  not 
promenading  for  mere  pleasure,"  replied  the  Gov 
ernor,  drawing  his  hand  across  his  chin.  "The 
causes  that  lead  people  to  travel  have  been  enume 
rated  by  no  less  an  authority  than  Mr.  Laurence 
Sterne  as  — 

"Infirmity  of  body, 

"Imbecility  of  mind,  or 

"Inevitable  necessity. 

"Unless  my  memory  errs  the  same  authority  classi 
fies  travelers  as  the  idle,  the  inquisitive,  the  lying, 
the  proud,  the  vain,  the  splenetic;  to  which  he 
added  the  delinquent  and  felonious  traveler,  the 
unfortunate  and  innocent  traveler,  the  traveler 
without  aim  and  the  wandering  sentimentalist. 
From  the  looks  of  your  clothing  I  should  judge 
that  you  belong  to  the  necessitous  group,  though 
from  a  certain  uneasy  expression  I  might  easily 
place  you  among  the  delinquent  and  criminal.  A 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       39 

fashionable  defaulter  perhaps  ?  No.  Then  let  it 
go  at  murder,  though  I  confess  you  don't  look  as 
though  you'd  have  a  stomach  for  homicide." 

"I  came  damned  near  getting  pinched  !"  asserted 
Archie  stoutly.  "The  cops  back  there  in  that  town 
gave  me  a  hard  run  for  it." 

Feeling  that  he  was  making  an  impression  on  the 
Governor  he  warmed  to  his  work. 

"I  was  just  crawling  through  the  window  of  a 
drug  store  when  here  comes  a  chap  tiptoeing  through 
the  alley  flashing  a  dark  lantern,  and  I  bolted  for 
the  tall  timber  as  hard  as  I  could  sprint.  The  fire 
bell  rang  and  the  whole  town  woke  up  and  I  got 
lost  running  through  a  garden  back  of  one  of  those 
swell's  houses  on  the  shore.  That's  how  I  got  this 
slash  in  the  face,  and  I'm  in  a  pretty  pickle  now. 
There'll  be  a  whole  army  looking  for  me;  and  if 
your  friend  Hoky's  been  killed  they'll  be  keen  to 
pinch  me  as  another  member  of  the  gang." 

The  Governor  listened  patiently  as  Archie  jerked 
this  out,  nervously  trying  to  conceal  his  Harvard 
training  in  the  use  of  the  English  language  by 
resorting  to  such  terms  as  he  imagined  bold  bad 
men  employ  in  moments  of  mental  stress. 

"An  amateur,  I  take  it  ?"  remarked  the  Governor 
with  the  humorous  twinkle  that  seemed  to  be 
habitual  with  him. 

"Hell,  no,"  grumbled  Archie  scornfully.  "But  I 
always  play  the  game  alone;  I  never  had  any  use 
for  pals.  They  get  in  the  way." 

"Wrong,  my  boy;  wrong  I  A  good  partner  like 
me  is  essential  to  the  successful  prosecution  of  the 
art  or  craft  felonious.  As  for  myself  I  rarely  ven 
ture  to  expose  myself  in  these  little  affairs;  but  I 


40  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

advise  and  counsel  the  brethren.  I  am  their  con 
fidant  and  assist  them  in  innumerable  ways  purely 
for  the  joy  of  it,  I  assure  you.  Now  Hoky  and  I 
had  been  on  the  road  all  spring,  and  he  made  a  good 
haul  or  two  under  my  direction;  but  he  wouldn't 
let  well  enough  alone.  I  warned  him  against  making 
an  attempt  back  yonder  last  night.  A  stormy  night 
always  makes  honest  householders  wakeful.  Take  it 
from  me,  son,  there  couldn't  be  a  worse  time  for  a 
burglary  than  a  night  melodious  with  rolling  thunder. 
You  haven't  the  judgment  of  a  month-old  infant. 
I  bought  a  toothbrush  at  that  drug  store  yesterday 
evening  and  there's  a  light  right  over  the  safe  at 
the  end  of  the  prescription  counter.  Your  attempt, 
my  son,  speaks  for  courage  but  not  for  discretion. 
You  should  always  ask  me  about  such  things." 

"I'm  sorry,"  replied  Archie  meekly,  "that  I  didn't 
run  into  you  sooner." 

"The  loss  is  mine!"  cried  the_ Governor  heartily. 
"But  let  us  be  practical.  The  coast  will  ring  with 
this,  particularly  if  Hoky  is  lying  cold  at  the  under 
taker's.  He  must  be  dead  or  pinched  or  he'd  be 
here  by  this  time.  We  shall  make  a  long  jump,  son, 
and  ponder  the  future." 

He  walked  off  briskly  with  Archie  close  beside  him. 

"When  Hoky  persisted  in  his  ill-chosen  enterprise 
I  felt  a  weariness  upon  me  and  lifted  a  little  roadster 
that  I've  tucked  away  down  here  in  a  peaceful  lane. 
Thought  I'd  be  all  ready  to  give  the  old  boy  a  long 
pull  for  freedom  when  he  came  back,  but  alas  — !" 

Sure  enough  the  roadster  was  there ;  a  very  handy 
little  car  indeed,  and  Archie  was  profoundly  in 
terested  to  know  that  it  was  in  this  fashion  that  a 
man  who  from  his  own  confession  was  counselor 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  41 

extraordinary  to  thieves,  toured  the  country.  The 
Governor  had  become  suddenly  a  man  of  action. 
Kneeling  down  he  detached  a  New  York  license 
tag  from  the  machine,  drew  from  his  pocket  a  Maine 
tag  and  attached  it,  humming  meanwhile. 

"The  rural  police  haven't  learned  this  simple 
device,"  he  explained,  as  he  sent  the  discarded  tag 
skimming  into  a  corn  field.  "I've  got  about  forty 
miles  to  run  inland.  The  back  roads  only  and 
Providence  our  guide !" 

He  jumped  in  and  bade  Archie  take  the  seat  be 
side  him.  The  car  was  soon  bumping  merrily  over 
a  rough  road  that  wound  through  a  pine  wood.  As 
near  as  Archie  could  reckon  from  the  sun  that  was 
crawling  into  view  they  were  bound  for  Halifax,  but 
to  be  going  anywhere  was  an  infinite  relief,  and  to 
be  traveling  with  a  man  whose  comrade  he  had 
shot  and  probably  killed  only  a  few  hours  earlier, 
imparted  a  piquant  flavor  to  the  journey.  This 
astonishing  person  who  called  himself  Governor 
might,  for  all  he  knew,  be  hurrying  him  to  some 
lonely  place  to  murder  him,  but  if  this  was  his  plan 
he  was  most  agreeable  about  it.  He  had  taken  off 
the  mackinaw  coat  in  which  he  had  first  appeared 
in  the  road  and  the  brown  coat  underneath  was  of 
modish  cut ;  and  as  his  foot  played  upon  the  brake 
Archie  noted  that  he  wore  silk  hose.  He  had  never 
dreamed  that  outlaws  were  so  careful  of  their  rai 
ment.  And  the  man's  talk  was  that  of  a  cultivated 
gentleman  who  wore  his  learning  lightly  and  was 
blessed  with  an  easy  conscience ;  not  at  all  like  the 
philosopher  and  guide  of  criminals. 

"You  seem  to  know  this  country  well,"  Archie 
remarked  as  they  penetrated  more  deeply  into  the 


42  BLACKSHEEP!    JBLACKSHEEP! 

woods  and  followed  a  grass-grown  trail  that  ended 
abruptly  at  an  abandoned  lumber  camp. 

"Oh,  I  know  most  of  the  whole  United  States 
just  as  well,"  remarked  the  Governor,  steering  the 
car  slowly  among  the  deep  ruts.  "We'll  shoot  the 
car  around  behind  that  pyramid  of  sawdust  and 
walk  a  bit  to  stretch  our  legs." 

There  was  no  trace  of  a  path  where  he  struck  off 
into  the  woods  but  he  strode  along  with  the  easy 
confidence  of  one  who  is  sure  of  his  destination. 
They  brought  up  presently  beside  a  brook  and  in  a 
moment  more  reached  a  log  hut  planted  on  the  edge 
of  the  high  bank. 

"What  do  you  think  of  that,  Sir  Archibald?" 
inquired  the  Governor  carelessly. 

Archie  paused,  wavering  in  the  path.  The  man 
had  called  him  by  his  right  name,  throwing  in  the 
prefix  with  a  tinge  of  insolence. 

"Oh,  your  name?"  remarked  the  Governor  turn 
ing  from  a  leisurely  survey  of  the  dwelling.  "Per 
fectly  easy!  Archibald  Bennett  was  neatly  sewed 
into  your  coat  pocket  by  your  tailor  as  I  observed 
when  I  rubbed  my  hands  over  your  waistcoat  to 
see  if  you  wore  a  badge.  Your  bill-fold  is  there 
intact  —  it's  rather  indelicate  of  you  to  feel  for  it ! 
If  I'd  meant  to  rob  you  I'd  have  biffed  you  on  the 
head  long  ago  and  thrown  your  carcass  to  the 
buzzards." 

"I  got  these  duds  out  of  a  suitcase  I  sneaked  from 
an  auto  in  Boston,  and  that's  no  name  of  mine," 
Archie  explained  hurriedly,  still  anxious  to  convince 
the  Governor  that  he  was  a  thief. 

"A  deft  hand,  son ;  but  very  careless  of  you  not 
to  rip  out  the  label.  Men  have  been  hanged  on 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  43 

slighter  evidence.  But  Archibald  is  not  a  name  to 
sneeze  at,  and  I  rather  like  Archie;  and  Archie  I 
shall  continue  to  call  you.  Now  we'll  see  what  we 
can  do  to  shake  up  a  breakfast." 

He  drew  out  a  key  and  opened  the  door  of  the  hut. 
On  one  side  stood  a  dilapidated  cook  stove  of  an 
obsolete  pattern,  surrounded  by  a  few  kitchen 
utensils.  In  the  far  end  were  two  bunks,  one  above 
the  other,  and  on  a  chair  beside  them  a  pile  of 
blankets  neatly  folded.  In  the  middle  of  the  room 
was  a  table  littered  with  old  magazines. 

"Not  a  bad  place,  Archie!  I  stumbled  upon  it  a 
couple  of  years  ago  quite  by  accident  and  use  it 
occasionally.  The  retreat  of  some  artist  who  prob 
ably  starved  to  death.  When  I  first  found  the 
shack  it  was  full  of  impressionistic  studies  that 
looked  as  though  the  poor  boob  stood  on  his  head 
to  paint.  I  made  a  burnt  offering  of  the  whole  lot 
to  outraged  Nature."  He  opened  a  cupboard 
revealing  a  quantity  of  provisions.  "Poor  old 
Hoky  was  a  great  lover  of  ham;  I  never  saw  such 
an  appetite  for  smoked  pork,  and  he  had  just  stocked 
us  up  with  a  few  specimens  he  lifted  somewhere." 

Besides  three  hams  there  were  coffee,  cartons  of 
crackers  and  cans  of  condensed  milk. 

"We  fellows  who  live  by  our  wits  need  the  open 
air  just  as  much  as  bank  presidents,  for  our  business 
makes  a  heavier  drain  on  the  nerves,"  continued  the 
Governor  after  they  had  prepared  breakfast.  "  Your 
pallor  suggests  that  you  may  have  emerged  quite 
recently  from  one  of  those  institutions  designed  for 
the  moral  reconstruction  of  the  weak  and  erring." 

Archie's  eyes  fell  under  the  Governor's  keen  gaze. 
But  he  realized  that  he  must  firmly  establish  him- 


44       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

self  in  the  man's  confidence  by  palming  himself  off 
as  a  crook  with  a  prison  record.  In  no  other  way 
could  he  be  sure  of  the  assistance  and  protection 
which  the  Governor  alone  could  give  him. 

"Three  months'  jail  sentence,"  he  replied  smoothly. 

"Ah  !  A  minor  felony,  I  judge,  from  the  brevity 
of  your  incarceration,"  replied  the  Governor,  empty 
ing  the  coffee  pot  into  Archie's  cup.  "I  have  never 
been  in  jail  and  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  I  have 
never  been  indicted;  or  if  I  have  the  sheriff  has 
never  caught  up  with  me !  My  heart  bleeds  never 
theless  for  these  poor  devils  who  are  always  in  the 
toils,  and  in  my  poor  weak  fashion  I  try  to  help 
them.  Really,  my  dear  Archie,  thieves  as  a  class 
are  shockingly  deficient  in  intelligence.  Until  I 
dropped  into  the  underworld  they  were  a  peculiarly 
helpless  lot  —  like  dear  old  Hoky  whose  loss  I  shall 
mourn  to  my  dying  day." 

Archie  flinched,  but  he  was  beginning  to  feel  at 
home  in  his  new  role  of  a  fugitive  from  justice,  and 
murmured  his  sympathy  without  a  quaver. 

"My  friend,"  said  the  Governor  soberly  as  they 
rose  from  the  table,  "we  have  dipped  our  hands 
in  the  same  dish  and  broken  bread  together.  I'm 
strong  for  the  old  traditions  of  Arab  hospitality 
and  that  sort  of  thing.  There's  honor,  you  know, 
among  thieves,  and  I'm  rather  keen  for  the  senti 
mental  side  of  the  business.  You  may  trust  me, 
telling  me  as  much  or  as  little  of  yourself  as  you 
please.  I  don't  mind  saying  that  you're  a  likable 
chap,  but  pathetically  helpless  in  emergencies  like 
most  of  our  brethren.  It's  well  for  you  that  you 
fell  in  with  me,  with  that  little  episode  of  the  drug 
store  hanging  over  you.  I'll  be  a  good  pal  to  you 


BLACKSHEEP !  i  BLACKSHEEP !       45 

and  I  ask  you  to  be  straight  with  me.  Are  we 
friends  or — " 

He  put  out  his  hand  questioningly.  Archie 
grasped  it,  meeting  the  gaze  of  the  keen  gray  eyes 
squarely,  but  with  something  of  an  appeal  in  them. 

"All  right,  Archie  —  for  such  you  shall  be  to  the 
end  of  the  chapter,  whether  you  lied  about  it  or 
not.  And  now  let's  deal  with  practical  affairs.  I'm 
going  to  spend  the  afternoon  on  that  stolen  machine 
we've  got  back  there;  you'll  hardly  know  it  when 
you  see  it  again.  I'll  paint  'er  white  to  symbol 
ize  our  purity.  There's  an  assortment  of  clothes 
the  boys  have  left  here  from  time  to  time  —  all 
sizes  and  ready  for  any  emergency.  You  can  pick 
'em  over  while  I'm  working  on  the  car.  I've  got 
a  bag  of  my  own  stuff  stuck  around  here  somewhere. " 
He  filled  and  lighted  a  pipe,  walked  toward  the  kitchen 
end  of  the  room  and  kicked  a  long  box.  "  If  you'll  just 
push  that  aside  you'll  find  a  door  in  the  floor  —  quite 
a  cellar  underneath  —  made  it  myself.  Candles  on 
the  shelf  there.  Don't  break  your  neck  on  the 
ladder." 

He  gathered  up  several  cans  of  ready-to-use  paint, 
and  paused  in  the  doorway  to  deliver  a  final  admoni 
tion. 

"If  Hoky  should  turn  up  —  tall  chap,  a  little 
bent  in  the  shoulders,  clean,  sharp  profile  —  call 
him  Hoky  and  yell  Governor  before  he  shoots. 
He's  very  sudden  with  the  gun,  that  Hoky;  a 
lamentable  weakness ;  spoiled  him  for  delicate 
jobs,  but  I'm  afraid  that  at  last  somebody's  got 
the  drop  on  him." 

The  cellar  was  really  a  cave  gouged  into  the  earth 
and  piled  with  trunks  and  hand  bags  stuffed  with 


46       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

all  manner  of  loot.  There  was  enough  silverware 
to  equip  a  dozen  households,  and  Archie  amused 
himself  by  studying  the  monograms,  thinking  that 
quite  possibly  he  was  handling  spoons  that  he  had 
encountered  on  happier  occasions  in  the  homes  of 
his  friends.  The  trunks  contained  clothing  in  great 
variety  and  most  of  it  was  new  and  of  good  quality. 
He  carried  up  an  armful  and  found  a  gray  suit  that 
fitted  him  very  well.  Another  visit  yielded  shirts, 
socks  and  underclothing,  a  slightly  used  traveling 
case  with  shaving  materials  and  other  toilet  articles. 

He  bathed  in  the  brook,  shaved,  dressed  and  felt 
like  a  new  being.  Only  a  few  hours  had  elapsed 
since  he  walked  uprightly  in  the  eyes  of  all  men; 
now  he  was  a  fugitive,  and  for  all  he  knew  to  the 
contrary  a  murderer.  He  had  accommodated  him 
self  with  ease  to  lying  and  the  practice  of  deceit ;  and 
even  the  taking  of  human  life  seemed  no  longer  a  mon 
strous  thing.  If  he  were  caught  in  the  Governor's 
company  he  would  have  a  pretty  time  of  it  satisfy 
ing  a  court  of  his  innocence ;  but  he  considered  his 
plight  tranquilly. 

In  doffing  the  clothing  he  had  acquired  honestly  and 
substituting  stolen  raiment,  it  was  almost  as  though  he 
were  changing  his  character  as  well.  In  transferring 
his  effects  from  the  old  to  the  new  pockets  he  came 
upon  Isabel  Perry's  note,  and  grinned  as  he  re-read 
it.  He  wondered  what  Isabel  would  say  if  she 
knew  that  he  had  already  slipped  the  leash  that 
bound  him  to  convention  and  performed  even  more 
reckless  deeds  than  she  had  prescribed  for  him. 

"No  callers  ?  Well,  I  must  say  you're  a  credit 
to  our  gents'  clothing  department!"  the  Governor 
remarked  on  his  return.  "That  stuff  was  accumu- 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  47 

lated  early  in  the  spring  by  a  couple  of  the  boys 
who  had  no  more  sense.  Silver,  yes ;  you  can  melt 
it  and  sell  it  like  pig  iron;  but  how  absurd  to  risk 
your  neck  stealing  mere  raiment !  Still  the  word's 
gone  down  the  line  and  any  of  the  brethren  who're 
in  need  of  shelter  and  a  change  of  dothes  will  find 
what  they  want  here.  You've  picked  about  the 
best  of  the  lot.  What  do  you  make  of  this  ?  Found 
it  in  the  car." 

He  extended  a  crumpled  telegram  which  read  : 

Bailey  Harbor,  Me. 

June  n,  1917. 
Putney  Congdon, 

Thackeray  Club,  New  York. 

I  am  offering  the  house  for  rent.  Shall  take  every  pre 
caution  to  protect  my  children  from  your  brutality. 

A.  B.  C. 

Archie  felt  the  hut  whirling  round  him.  What  he 
held  was  beyond  question  the  reply  of  Mrs.  Congdon 
to  her  husband's  telegram  that  had  been  left  lying  on 
the  dinner  table.  And  if  Congdon  had  left  New  York 
for  Bailey  Harbor  immediately  to  put  into  effect  his 
threat  to  abduct  his  child,  it  might  have  been  Congdon 
he  had  shot  —  not  Hoky  !  The  Governor,  scrubbing 
the  paint  from  his  hands,  called  over  his  shoulder : 

"An  odd  message!  It  had  slipped  under  the 
seat.  Good  thing  I  found  it." 

"Where  did  you  find  that  car?"  asked  Archie 
with  an  attempt  at  indifference. 

"Oh,  the  bloomin'  thing  was  run  up  under  a 
clump  of  trees  on  the  back  road  on  the  far  side  of 
Bailey.  I  thought  maybe  it  was  a  stolen  car. 
Hoky  and  I  separated  there  when  the  storm  started. 


48  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

So  I  drove  the  machine  to  the  place  you  found  me 
waiting  for  him.  Mr.  Congdon  has  probably  noti 
fied  all  the  world  of  his  sad  loss."  He  held  out  his 
hands  for  Archie's  inspection.  "This  is  certainly 
hard  and  fast  paint,  but  it  did  the  work  all  right. 
The  owner  of  that  machine  wouldn't  know  it  now. 
And  not  more  than  a  spoonful  of  gas  gone  out  of 
the  tank;  so  we  can  make  a  long  jump,  Archie." 

No  jump  they  could  make  would  be  long  enough, 
Archie  reflected.  He  was  afraid  to  ask  further 
questions  about  the  car  and  his  senses  were  numbed 
by  the  effort  to  determine  whether  it  was  Hoky  he 
had  shot  or  Mr.  Putney  Congdon.  If  his  bullet 
had  impinged  upon  Congdon's  person,  the  man 
would  undoubtedly  believe  his  wife  had  ordered 
him  murdered,  and  Archie  found  no  consolation  in 
the  conjecture  that  he  had  added  to  Mrs.  Congdon's 
distress.  If  Congdon  wasn't  dead  he  would  be  sure 
to  make  diligent  inquiries  in  the  village  as  to  his 
assailant  and  the  stolen  car.  The  druggist  would 
know  who  had  taken  the  key  and  Archie  had 
stated  his  purpose  to  walk  to  the  station  and  take 
the  five  eleven  train.  But  beyond  Bailey  Harbor 
he  saw  his  alibi  crumbling. 

The  Governor's  ceaseless  flow  of  talk  fortunately 
diverted  his  thoughts  to  more  cheerful  channels.  He 
must  stick  to  the  Governor,  who  to  be  sure  showed 
no  inclination  to  desert  him.  Indeed  the  Governor 
evinced  a  sincere  pleasure  in  his  society,  and  if 
he  behaved  himself  he  might  fill  the  void  created 
in  the  man's  life  by  the  loss  of  Hoky.  He  would 
remain  in  hiding  until  the  whole  thing  blew  over, 
whether  it  was  Hoky  or  Putney  Congdon  he  had 
shot  in  Congdon's  house. 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  49 

He  obeyed  with  alacrity  a  hint  that  he  prepare 
luncheon;  and  after  this  had  been  consumed  the 
Governor  suggested  a  game  of  chess,  produced  a 
set  of  ivory  chessmen  from  a  cupboard  and  soon 
proved  himself  a  skilful  player. 

"It's  wonderful  for  sharpening  the  wits,"  he 
explained.  "When  I've  got  a  difficult  job  on  hand 
I  find  a  game  stimulating  to  my  faculties.  Let  me 
see,  who  was  that  telegram  addressed  to  ?  Congdon ; 
yes,  that's  right.  Dropped  into  a  chess  club  in 
Boston  about  a  month  ago  and  watched  a  chap 
playing,  highly  nervous  fellow  but  a  pretty  stiff 
player  at  that.  They  called  him  Congdon  all  right 
and  he  may  be  the  owner  of  that  car.  The  thought 
pleases  me.  Heard  him  asking  for  his  father, 
Eliphalet  Congdon,  who's  a  chess  fiend,  too,  it 
appeared.  Had  heard  of  him  before  —  the  old 
boy  carries  his  will  around  in  his  umbrella  just  to 
tantalize  his  relations,  who  are  all  crazy  to  know 
what  he's  going  to  do  with  his  money.  Something 
pathetic  in  a  man  chasing  his  own  father  over  the 
country;  doesn't  gee  with  our  old  ideal  of  the 
patriarchal  system  with  father  at  the  head  of  the 
table  serving  the  whole  family  from  one  miserable 
duck.  Ever  notice  a  queer  streak  of  eccentricity 
in  people  who  toy  with  the  chessmen  ?  Of  course 
you're  thinking  I'm  no  exception  to  the  rule,  but  the 
thought  isn't  displeasing  to  me.  That  was  a  neat 
move  —  you're  waking  up,  Archie  !  Well,  sir,  young 
Congdon  was  offering  something  handsome  to  any 
one  who'd  steal  the  old  man's  umbrella  so  he 
could  get  hold  of  the  will.  I've  sunk  pretty  low, 
Archie,  but  stealing  umbrellas  is  distinctly  not  in 
my  line!" 


50  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

At  the  end  of  two  hours  the  Governor  declared 
that  they  must  take  a  nap  before  setting  out  and 
turned  into  one  of  the  berths  and  was  soon  snoring. 
Archie  was  glad  of  a  chance  to  be  alone  with  his 
thoughts,  but  he  found  them  poor  company.  After 
kicking  about  restlessly  for  a  time  he  slept  but  only 
to  wander  through  a  wild  phantasmagoria  of  crime 
in  which  Isabel  Perry,  dressed  precisely  as  he  had 
seen  her  at  his  sister's,  led  him  on  from  one  wild 
scene  to  another,  clapping  her  hands  with  delight 
at  each  exploit. 

"You  are  doing  splendidly,"  she  laughed,  as  he 
turned  to  her,  pistol  in  hand,  after  shooting  a  gigantic 
policeman  with  fiery  red  whiskers.  "Really  you 
exceed  my  expectations.  I  am  proud  of  you,  Mr. 
Bennett,"  she  was  saying  when  a  vigorous  shake 
brought  him  up  standing. 

"To  gain  or  lose  it  all,"  he  stammered  rubbing 
his  eyes.  But  it  was  not  Isabel  he  was  addressing 
but  his  confederate,  blandly  smiling. 

"The  boy  quotes  poetry!"  the  Governor  ex 
claimed.  "Archie,  you've  come  in  answer  to  my 
prayers !  Together  we  shall  drink  of  the  fount  of 
Castalia.  We  shall  chum  with  Apollo  and  the 
Muses  Nine !  But  the  gods  call  us  elsewhere ! 
We'll  snatch  a  bite  and  be  off!  And  we've  got  a 
job  all  waiting  for  us.  One  of  the  brotherhood  has 
commissioned  me  to  dig  up  some  boodle  he's  planted 
over  in  New  Hampshire.  You  may  recall  the  in 
cident.  Red  Leary,  a  rare  boy,  who  pulled  off  some 
big  enterprises  in  Kansas  and  Missouri  a  dozen 
years  ago,  emerged  from  Leavenworth  and  floated 
into  good  old  conservative  New  England  where  he 
held  up  an  express  messenger  and  sauntered  off  with 


BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP !  5 I 

fifty  thousand  dollars  in  new  bank  notes  fresh  from 
the  Treasury.  I've  been  in  touch  with  Red  lately 
-  he's  been  up  in  Nova  Scotia  but  doesn't  like 
the  climate,  and  he  wants  his  boodle.  Do  you 
follow  me  ?" 

"He  hid  it  somewhere  and  wants  your  help  in 
recovering  it  ? " 

"Right  the  first  time  !  In  the  summer  there's  a 
lot  of  travel  north  and  south  and  Leary,  who's  had 
an  honest  job  up  there  since  he  made  the  haul,  is 
even  now  wandering  down  Lake  Champlain  to  meet 
me.  No,  Archie,  communication  through  the  under 
world  is  much  less  difficult  than  you  imagine.  Regu 
lar  post  offices  and  that  sort  of  thing.  That  cash  is 
tucked  away  in  the  cellar  of  a  church  and  by  this 
time  tomorrow  night  we'll  have  it,  all  ready  for  old 
Red  and  check  the  item  from  our  tablets." 

"But  the  numbers  of  those  notes  are  in  every 
bank  in  the  country,"  suggested  Archie;  "the 
police  are  only  waiting  for  the  bills  to  get  into 
circulation  to  pounce  on  the  thief." 

"I  am  more  and  more  delighted  with  you,  my 
son !  That  point  had  given  me  no  little  worry. 
But  something  will  turn  up ;  there  will  be  a  way 
out  of  the  difficulty.  Chuck  your  old  duds  into  the 
creek  and  close  the  windows.  We'll  hit  the  long 
trail!" 


CHAPTER  TWO 

I 

OUT  of  the  woods  and  once  more  on  a  smooth 
highway  the  stolen  car  sped  like  a  frightened  ghost 
through  the  starry  night.  The  Governor  drove  with 
the  assurance  of  a  man  who  knows  what  he's  about. 
Huddled  in  a  long  ulster  he  had  found  in  the  cabin, 
Archie,  whose  ideas  of  motoring  had  always  been 
extremely  conservative,  yielded  himself  more  and 
more  to  the  inevitable.  He  was  no  longer  a  free 
agent  but  a  plaything  of  circumstance.  In  no  ex 
aggerated  sense  he  was  a  captive,  a  prisoner  of  the 
man  beside  him,  whose  friendliness  was  flattering 
and  alarming  in  a  breath  ! 

At  any  moment  they  might  be  held  up  and  sub 
jected  to  scrutiny  and  questioning,  and  Archie  ex 
perienced  a  tingle  at  the  prospect;  but  the  Gover 
nor  had  declared  with  apparent  sincerity  that  he 
had  never  been  in  jail  and  this  in  itself  was  reassur 
ing,  for  presumably  a  man  who  so  keenly  enjoyed 
his  freedom  was  a  skilled  dodger  of  the  law.  The 
Governor,  who  would  have  passed  anywhere  for  a 
successful  banker  or  lawyer,  had  more  of  the  spirit 
of  the  debonair  swashbucklers  of  romance  than  any 
other  man  Archie  had  known.  He  might  be  a  great 
liar,  and  Archie  suspected  that  he  was ;  and  doubts  of 
the  man's  sanity  troubled  him  not  a  little;  but  it 
sufficed  for  the  moment  that  his  comrade  was  steer- 

52 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  53 

ing  him  rapidly  away  from  Bailey  Harbor,  and  so 
far  had  managed  the  business  with  excellent  judg 
ment. 

Occasionally  the  Governor  lifted  his  voice  in  songs 
of  unimpeachable  literary  and  musical  quality  that 
rang  sonorously  above  the  hum  of  the  engine. 

"Who  is  Sylvia  ?     What  is  she  ? 
That  all  our  swains  commend  her," 

he  sang  through  to  the  end  to  the  old  familiar  air; 
followed  by  "Drink  to  Me  Only  with  Thine  Eyes." 

They  struck  a  stretch  of  road  under  repair  and 
slowing  up  the  Governor  remarked  carelessly  as  he 
picked  his  way  through  a  line  of  red  lanterns : 

"Speaking  of  women,  my  dear  Archie,  do  you 
share  the  joy  of  the  lyric  poets  in  the  species?" 

"Women  ?"  gulped  Archie,  as  surprised  as  though 
he  had  been  asked  suddenly  his  opinion  of  the 
gazella  dorcas. 

"The  same,  Archie.  It  occurs  to  me  that  you 
have  probably  had  many  affairs.  A  fellow  of  your 
coolness  and  dash  couldn't  fail  to  appeal  to  the  in 
comprehensible  sex.  I'm  thirty-four  but  I've  loved 
only  one  woman  —  that's  the  solemn  truth,  Archie. 
Occasionally  small  indiscretions,  I  confess;  and 
I  sometimes  weakly  yield  to  the  temptation  to  flirt, 
but  with  my  hand  on  my  heart  I  declare  solemnly 
that  only  once  have  I  ever  been  swayed  by  the  grand 
passion.  And  strange  as  it  may  seem  she's  a  bishop's 
daughter,  though  a  saint  in  her  own  right !  O  won 
derful !  O  sublime!" 

This  confidence,  vague  as  to  the  identity  and  habi 
tat  of  the  lady  of  the  Governor's  adoration,  never 
theless  made  it  incumbent  upon  Archie  to  make  some 


54       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

sort  of  reply.  The  Governor  would  probably  be 
disappointed  in  him  if  he  confessed  the  meagerness 
of  his  experiences,  and  he  felt  that  it  would  be  a  grave 
error  to  jeopardize  his  standing  with  his  companion. 

"Well,  I'm  in  the  same  boat,"  he  answered  glibly. 
"There's  only  one  girl  for  me!" 

"Magnificent!"  cried  the  Governor.  "I  hope 
she's  not  beyond  your  reach  like  my  goddess?" 

"  Well,  I'll  hardly  say  that,"  Archie  replied.  "  But 
there  are  difficulties,  embarrassments,  you  know." 

"Possibly  your  choice  of  the  open  road  as  a  career 
is  a  bar  to  marriage  ?  Such  situations  are  always 
deplorable." 

"It  is  quite  the  other  way  round  with  me," 
Archie  protested.  "It  was  she  who  put  me  up  to 
it!" 

"What!  Your  inamorata  wanted  you  to  be  a 
crook  ?"  cried  the  Governor.  "She  must  be  a  won 
derful  girl !  Shoplifter,  perhaps  ?  There  are  some 
jolly  girls  in  that  business  !  Or,  maybe  she's  one 
of  these  confidence  women  who  play  a  sure  game  and 
usually  get  by  with  it  ?" 

"Nothing  like  that !"  cried  Archie  hastily.  "She 
just  fancies  the  life  —  thinks  it  offers  me  a  good 
chance  to  prove  my  mettle.  She  hates  conven 
tionality." 

This  reference  to  Isabel  Perry,  remote  and  guarded 
as  it  was,  he  defended  only  on  the  ground  that 
it  was  necessary  in  some  way  to  meet  the  Governor 
half-way  in  his  confidences.  And  what  he  had  said 
was  really  true,  though  to  be  sure  Isabel  could  hardly 
be  held  responsible  for  the  shooting  at  the  Congdon 
house.  He  wondered  what  Isabel  would  say  if  she 
could  see  him  with  a  criminal  beside  him,  joy-riding 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       55 

in  a  stolen  car.  And  it  was  no  lie  that  he  sincerely 
believed  that  he  loved  her.  No  other  girl  had  ever 
roused  him  so  much,  or  given  him  so  good  reason 
for  standing  off  and  taking  a  look  at  himself.  His 
thoughts  of  her  had  led  him  far  afield  when  the  Gov 
ernor  remarked  ruminatively : 

"  Do  you  manage  to  see  her  ?  That's  the  devil  of 
it  in  my  case !  The  lady's  forbidden  to  recognize 
me  in  any  way  and  the  right  reverend  father  is  a  tart 
old  party  and  keeps  sharp  watch  of  her.  You'd 
think  a  girl  of  twenty-two  or  thereabouts  who  spends 
her  time  in  good  works  for  the  heathen  and  runs  a 
Sunday-school  class  in  a  slum  would  be  indulged  in 
her  admiration  for  a  jolly  rogue  like  me !  But  the 
facts  are  decidedly  otherwise.  She's  never  quite 
brought  her  nerve  to  the  point  of  breaking  home  ties 
and  bolting  with  me;  but  she's  declined  to  marry 
all  the  bachelor  and  widower  dominies  in  the  paternal 
diocese  on  my  account.  And -a  young  bishop  of 
the  brightest  prospects.  Actually,  my  dear  Archie  ! 
There's  a  steadfast  soul  for  you !  But  I  can't  see 
her  and  the  regular  mails  are  closed  to  us.  Never 
theless  we  have  an  arrangement  —  highly  romantic, 
by  which  if  she  ever  needs  me  or  thinks  I  can  serve 
her  in  any  way  she's  to  leave  a  note  in  a  certain  place. 
It's  her  own  idea  and  very  pretty.  Savors  of  the 
good  old  times  when  bold  knights  went  riding  up  to 
the  castle  and  yelled  to  the  flinty-hearted  duke  inside 
to  lower  the  draw-bridge  and  send  out  his  daughter 
to  be  married  on  the  spot  or  he'd  be  dropped  in  the 
moat  with  all  his  armor  for  a  sinker." 

Archie  thought  it  would  be  a  fine  thing  if  he  could 
make  an  arrangement  with  Isabel  by  which  he  could 
hear  from  her  on  his  travels  and  he  mustered  courage 


56  BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP ! 

to  ask  the  Governor  how  he  managed  his  line  of 
communication. 

"The  device  is  the  simplest  possible.  In  our 
jauntings  we  shall  pass  a  town  where  she  visits  a 
good  deal  —  the  home  of  an  ancient  aunt.  It's  a 
jolly  old  place,  big  grounds,  with  elms  and  maples 
all  round,  and  there's  a  tea  house  with  a  tile  floor, 
and  there's  a  particular  blue  tile  under  a  bench  that 
can  be  pried  out  with  a  pen  knife.  That's  our  post- 
office,  and  much  safer  than  registered  mail.  Of 
course  my  business  correspondence  is  a  different 
matter.  I  pick  that  up  in  countless  places  between 
here  and  California  —  reports  of  the  boys,  their  hopes 
and  ambitions  and  hints  of  schemes  for  acquiring 
sudden  wealth.  If  you'd  like  to  use  some  of  these 
addresses  and  have  mail  forwarded  I'll  be  glad  to 
oblige  you.  You  know  how  fussy  the  government 
is  about  the  use  of  the  mail  for  irregular  purposes  ? 
Well,  it  rather  tickled  me  to  get  some  envelopes  with 
S.  S.  S.  P.  printed  in  the  corner  and  the  number  of 
a  vacant  lot  in  Sioux  City  as  the  address.  A  care 
less  eye  would  think  the  initials  stood  for  some  sort 
of  learned  society  but  the  real  translation  is  Society 
for  the  Segregation  of  Stolen  Property.  I  always 
use  these  in  communicating  with  the  brotherhood." 

"There's  a  good  deal  about  the  business  I  don't 
know,"  said  Archie  with  twinges  of  envy  and  admi 
ration.  "My  bridges  are  all  burned  behind  me  and 
I'm  not  getting  mail  anywhere;  but  I'll  remember 
your  offer." 

I     Further  conversation  was  ended  by  the  swinging 
of  a  lantern  across  the  road. 

"Ah!"  exclaimed  the  Governor,  with  a  curious 
rising  inflexion.  "I've  been  looking  for  that." 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  57 

He  slowed  up  instantly  and  in  a  moment  halted 
the  car.  The  headlights  played  upon  two  men 
standing  belligerently  in  front  of  the  roadster. 

"Good  evening,  gentlemen!"  cried  the  Governor. 
"  Short  of  gas  or  what's  the  trouble  ?  " 

"We're  from  the  Portsmouth  police,"  answered 
one  of  the  men  while  the  other  ran  to  the  rear  of  the 
car  and  swung  a  lantern  over  the  license  tag. 

"Maine  tag,"  he  shouted. 

"Certainly  a  Maine  license,"  replied  the  Governor. 
"We're  deputy  sheriffs  from  Cumberland  County 
looking  for  two  crooks  who've  been  robbing  houses 
up  our  way.  Got  blank  warrants  all  ready  to  serve 
if  we  catch  the  scoundrels." 

Archie  shuddered  at  the  Governor's  assurance. 
The  Portsmouth  officers  manifested  the  deepest  pro 
fessional  interest  and  sympathy  as  the  Governor 
with  an  authoritative  air  flourished  two  documents. 

"Burglar  shot  at  Bailey  Harbor  last  night,"  ex 
plained  one  of  the  officers  ;  "they  found  his  body  this 
morning  and  we're  looking  for  his  accomplice. 
Guess  he  didn't  come  this  way ;  we  been  on  the  road 
all  night." 

"We've  held  up  everybody  that  looked  suspicious 
all  the  way  down  and  haven't  seen  a  soul,"  the  Gov 
ernor  replied  in  official  tones.  "Think  the  chaps 
we're  looking  for  skipped  by  train.  What  did  the 
dead  burglar  look  like?" 

"I  talked  with  the  Bailey  mayor  over  the  tele 
phone  and  he  said  the  dead  man  was  a  big  fellow, 
clean-shaven  with  the  scar  of  an  old  knife  wound 
under  his  left  arm.  One  of  the  cottagers  shot  him 
in  his  house,  but  he  got  away  —  crawled  down  on 
tjie  shore  and  died.  Boston  police  department's 


58  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

sending  a  man  up  to  look  at  the  body.  Never  knew 
so  many  burglaries  up  this  way.  Must  be  a  whole 
gang  at  work." 

"Certainly  looks  like  it,"  the  Governor  assented. 
"Well,  if  you  see  a  tall  chap  and  a  short  thick-set 
fellow  anywhere  nail  'em  for  us.  Old  criminals  with 
long  records.  They've  been  enjoying  themselves  up 
our  way.  The  tall  one  doesn't  say  much,  but  the 
little  chap  is  a  smooth  talker  —  can  talk  himself 
right  out  of  jail  if  you  give  him  a  chance." 

"We'll  shoot  first  and  get  an  explanation  after 
ward  if  we  see  'em,"  declared  the  Portsmouth  officer, 
as  his  companion  buttoned  up  his  coat  preparatory 
to  getting  back  into  the  car. 

"Glad  to  see  you,  boys  !"  exclaimed  the  Governor, 
backing  the  stolen  machine  and  then  calling  a  cheery 
"Good  luck!"  as  he  passed  their  car. 

Archie  had  been  sitting  pigeon-toed  expecting  that 
at  any  minute  the  two  officers  would  discover  points 
in  the  stolen  car  to  arouse  their  suspicions ;  but  the 
Governor's  jaunty  tone  had  evidently  thrown  them 
entirely  off  guard.  He  had  hoped  that  the  Gover 
nor  would  press  for  further  details  as  to  the  killing 
of  the  burglar  at  the  Harbor,  but  as  matters  stood 
he  had  learned  nothing  except  that  a  burglar  had 
been  shot  in  one  of  the  Harbor  cottages  and  he  was 
again  torn  with  anxiety  as  to  the  identity  of  the 
man  he  had  fired  at  in  the  Congdon  house. 

The  Governor  began  to  chortle  after  a  quick  glance 
at  the  vanishing  red  light  of  the  Portsmouth  car. 

"Not  the  first  time  I've  used  warrants  in  that  way  ! 
And  they're  good  warrants  too.  I  plucked  a  bunch 
of  such  literature  from  a  deputy  sheriff  who  got  too 
inquisitive  last  summer  and  I  had  to  grab  and  tie 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  59 

him  to  a  tree  up  near  Moosehead  where  I'd  gone  for 
a  conference  with  some  of  the  boys  who  were  coming 
out  of  Canada.  But  I  guess  it's  a  sure  thing  those 
Portsmouth  chaps  were  looking  for  me !  I'd  been 
strolling  round  quite  freely  with  poor  Hoky  up  the 
shore.  If  that  chap  had  stuck  his  finger  into  the 
paint  this  machine  would  have  gone  no  further. 
"We'll  do  well  to  leave  the  main  road  for  a  while, 
then  step  briskly  into  a  train  somewhere/' 

"  Your  nerve  in  describing  us  —  you  and  me,  sit 
ting  right  there  before  them  —  to  those  officers  gave 
me  a  chill,"  confessed  Archie.  "If  you'd  talked  to 
them  much  more  we'd  have  been  pinched  for  sure." 

"You  flatter  the  intelligence  of  the  police.  There 
are  not  a  half  a  dozen  detectives  worthy  of  the  name 
in  the  whole  country.  Possibly  we  may  have  a 
contest  of  wits  with  some  of  them  before  we  close 
the  season." 

It  had  always  been  Archie's  habit  to  greet  cour 
teously  the  policemen  he  passed  at  night  in  the 
Avenue,  little  dreaming  that  the  day  would  come 
when  he  would  view  the  policing  of  the  world  with 
contemptuous  disdain.  The  Governor  spoke  of 
policemen  and  detectives  with  pity;  they  were  so 
stupid,  he  said,  though  he  admitted  under  Archie's 
cross-examination  that  they  could  be  a  nuisance  at 
times. 

"Make  yourself  as  conspicuous  as  possible  and 
they're  hardly  likely  to  bother  you.  There  are  times, 
of  course,  when  one  must  hide,  but  the  mistake  our 
boys  make  is  in  hiding  in  places  where  the  police 
can  call  them  up  by  telephone  and  tell  them  to  pay 
their  own  taxi  fare  to  the  nearest  police  station.  I 
call  on  police  chiefs  in  a  purely  social  way  now  and 


6o  BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP ! 

then,  and  talk  to  them  about  the  best  way  of  re 
forming  crooks.  It's  their  philosophy  that  no  crook 
ever  reforms ;  an  absurd  idea,  of  course.  But  there's 
no  surer  way  to  ingratiate  yourself  with  a  big  fat 
detective  than  to  ask  how  you  can  help  poor  repent 
ant  sinners,  which  gives  him  a  chance  to  discourage 
you.  There's  nothing  in  it,  he  warns  you.  You 
thank  him  for  his  advice  and  ask  him  out  to  lunch. 
I've  bought  expensive  dinners  for  some  of  the  highest 
priced  crime-ferrets  in  the  game  just  for  the  joy  of 
hearing  their  pessimism.  They're  all  swollen  up 
with  the  idea  of  their  superior  knowledge  of  human 
nature.  But  it  serves  a  good  purpose  to  cultivate 
them,  for  you're  perfectly  safe  so  long  as  you  listen 
and  don't  try  to  tell  them  anything." 

II 

Toward  morning  the  Governor  again  had  recourse 
to  the  Elizabethan  bards,  then  he  lapsed  suddenly 
into  a  meditative  mood. 

"It's  always  a  bad  sign  when  the  season  opens 
with  the  potting  of  some  of  the  comrades.  When 
there's  one  such  catastrophe  there  are  bound  to  be 
others.  Now  that  Hoky's  dead  you'll  hear  of  the 
killing  of  other  burglars.  Every  householder  on  the 
coast  will  buy  himself  a  gun  and  wait  for  a  chance 
to  shoot  some  misguided  stranger  he  finds  collect 
ing  bric-a-brac  in  the  dark  watches  of  the  night. 
But  Hoky's  death  is  a  loss  to  the  underworld.  At  his 
best  he  could  achieve  the  impossible.  Once  he  spent  a 
week  on  the  roof  of  police  headquarters  in  Cincinnati ; 
really  he  did.  Good  weather  and  perfectly  com 
fortable;  used  to  stroll  down  through  the  building 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       6 1 

and  go  out  for  food  ;  then  back  again.  Chatted  with 
the  chief  of  detectives  about  his  own  crime,  which 
was  holding  up  the  paymaster  of  a  big  factory.  Bless 
me  if  Hoky  didn't  bury  the  money  in  a  graveyard 
and  hurry  uptown  and  live  right  there  with  the  whole 
police  system  right  under  him.  He  was  a  dear 
fellow,  Hoky !  By  the  way,  you  're  mighty  lucky 
that  you  didn't  get  a  neat  little  chunk  of  lead  right 
through  the  midriff,  fooling  with  that  drug  store!" 

In  the  rush  of  his  thoughts  Archie  had  forgotten 
his  imaginary  exploit  at  the  Harbor  drug  store  and 
realized  that  he  must  have  his  wits  about  him  if  he 
expected  to  retain  the  Governor's  regard  and  con 
fidence.  The  ease  with  which  the  supercrook  rode 
around  policemen  vastly  increased  his  feeling  of  reli 
ance  in  his  strange  companion,  and  his  only  misgiv 
ing  was  that  the  daring  resourceful  rogue  might 
abandon  him. 

As  dawn  broke  the  whistle  and  rumble  of  a  train 
caused  the  Governor  to  stop  the  car  and  dive  into  his 
pockets  for  time  tables  of  which  he  carried  a  large  sup 
ply.  He  scanned  one  and  hummed  his  satisfaction. 

"We'll  get  rid  of  this  machine  right  now  as  there's 
a  station  over  there  a  little  way  where  we  can  pick 
up  a  local  right  into  Portsmouth.  Don't  be  nervous. 
We'll  pass  for  a  couple  of  city  men  owning  farms  up 
here  and  just  riding  into  town  on  a  little  business. 

*  Virtue  is  bold  and  goodness  never  fearful/ 

as  well  said  by  old  William  of  Avon.  We  shall  be 
bold,  Archie,  but  not  too  bold." 

He  stopped,  opened  a  gate  and  ran  the  car  — 
thoroughly  disreputable  from  its  nocturnal  bath  in 
mud  —  through  a  barnyard  and  into  an  empty  shed. 


62  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"Now  for  a  brisk  walk !  The  owner  of  this  place 
sleeps  late  —  not  a  sign  of  smoke  from  the  kitchen 
chimney.  And  yet  so  many  students  of  farm  life 
wonder  at  the  meager  earnings  of  the  honest  hus 
bandman  !  However,  we've  given  that  chap  an 
excellent  roadster  and  if  he  keeps  his  mouth  shut 
he  can  run  it  till  it  falls  to  pieces  for  all  anybody  will 
ever  know  it's  a  stolen  vehicle." 

They  crossed  the  railroad  and  were  soon  buying 
tickets  from  a  sleepy  stationmaster.  The  Governor 
talked  briskly  through  the  window  as  the  agent 
stamped  their  tickets  while  Archie  cowered  at  the 
door  marveling  that  any  one  could  face  the  problems 
of  a  precarious  existence  so  gaily. 

They  alighted  at  Portsmouth  without  mishap, 
and  Archie,  recalling  the  primary  object  of  his  travels, 
stepped  to  the  telegraph  office  and  wired  his  sister 
as  follows  : 

"Have  been  motoring  with  friend;  hence  delay  in  re 
porting.  The  house  will  not  do.  Plumbing  in  wretched 
condition,  and  house  generally  out  of  repair.  Sorry  but 
you  will  have  to  look  further." 

Then  he  wrote  a  telegram  to  his  office  in  New  York 
explaining  that  he  had  been  motoring,  which  ac 
counted  for  his  failure  to  call  for  his  passage  to  Banff, 
thoughtfully  adding  that  the  cost  of  his  unused 
sleeping  car  tickets  should  be  charged  to  his  personal 
account.  After  composing  these  messages  he  re 
deemed  his  suitcase  in  the  check  room  and  dropped 
it  beside  the  Governor's  battered  kit  bag  on  the 
platform. 

"Ah  !  Burning  the  wires  a  little  ?  I  hope  you 
are  committing  no  indiscretion,  son.  I  was  admir- 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  63 

ing  your  baggage ;  that  suitcase  of  yours  would 
hold  a  king's  wardrobe.  We'll  drive  to  the  hotel, 
get  a  bath  and  a  solid,  old-fashioned  breakfast,  a 
hearty  meal  such  as  old  Ike  Walton  recommended 
to  fishermen  eager  for  the  early  worm,  and  plan  our 
further  travels." 

The  Governor  commanded  the  best  service  of  the 
inn,  obtaining  two  adjoining  rooms  with  bath.  He 
registered  elaborately  as  Reginald  Heber  Saulsbury 
and  wrote  Archie  down  as  Ashton  Comly,  dashingly 
indicating  the  residence  of  both  as  New  York.  In 
response  to  an  inquiry  for  mail  for  Mr.  Saulsbury 
the  clerk  made  search  and  threw  out  a  letter  which 
the  Governor  opened  indifferently  and  after  a  glance 
crumpled  into  his  pocket. 

"A  note  from  Red  Leary,"  he  explained  when 
they  had  reached  their  rooms.  "He's  slipping  along 
slowly  toward  Brattleboro,  where  we're  to  deliver 
that  loot  we've  got  to  pick  up.  You  will  pardon  my 
cheek  in  registering  for  you ;  unwarrantable  assump 
tion.  I  choose  Ashton  Comly  as  a  dignified  and 
distinctive  alias;  sounds  a  little  southern;  you  may 
consider  yourself  for  the  present  a  scion  of  an  ancient 
house  of  the  Carolinas.  As  for  me,  Saulsbury's  a 
name  I  saw  chalked  on  a  box-car  in  the  Buffalo  yards 
and  Reginald  Heber  is  a  fit  handle  to  it.  When  I 
was  in  prep  school  we  had  a  lecture  by  an  eminent 
divine  on  the  life  of  Reginald  Heber,  hymn  writer, 
and  that  sort  of  thing.  I'm  rather  ashamed  of  my 
self  for  borrowing  the  name  of  a  man  of  singularly 
pure  life,  but  it's  the  devil  in  me,  lad  !  It's  an  awful 
thing  to  be  born  with  a  devil  inside  of  you,  but  it 
could  hardly  be  said  that  my  case  is  unique.  Here 
you  are,  also  the  possessor  of  a  nasty  little  devil, 


64       BLACKSHEEP !  BLACKSHEEP ! 

and  obviously,  like  me,  a  man  of  good  bringing  up. 
That's  why  I've  warmed  to  you.  You  tried  pulling 
rough  talk  on  me  at  our  first  meeting,  but  you've  got 
Harvard  written  all  over  you.  No,  not  a  word  ! 
We  are  two  brunette  sheep  far  astray  from  the  home 
pastures  and  not  apologizing  for  our  color  or  previous 
condition  of  servitude." 

Archie  had  always  enjoyed  the  ease  of  good  inns, 
and  being  in  a  comfortable  house  with  his  own  effects 
at  hand,  he  might  have  forgotten  that  he  was  a  fugi 
tive  if  it  hadn't  been  for  the  propinquity  of  his  com 
panion,  who  was  addressing  himself  with  elaborate 
ceremonial  to  the  preparation  of  his  bath.  The 
Governor's  bag  contained  an  assortment  of  silk  shirts 
and  underwear,  a  dress  suit,  a  handsome  set  of  toilet 
articles,  and  as  Archie  scrutinized  them  approvingly 
the  Governor  smiled,  stepped  to  the  door,  and 
locked  it. 

"The  property  of  a  fastidious  gentleman  of  breed 
ing,  you  would  say !  You  would  never  dream  that 
thing  has  a  false  bottom!" 

Archie  would  not  have  dreamed  it,  but  the  Gov 
ernor  dumped  the  remaining  contents  on  the  bed, 
fumbled  in  the  bottom  of  the  bag,  lifted  a  concealed 
flap,  and  drew  out  a  long  fold  of  leather. 

"You  might  think  it  a  surgeon's  pocket-kit,  son, 
but  you  would  be  greatly  in  error.  Drills,  jimmies, 
even  a  light  hammer  —  and  here's  a  little  contri 
vance  that  has  been  known  to  pluck  the  secret  from 
most  intricate  combinations  —  my  own  invention. 
The  common  yegg  habit  of  pouring  an  explosive 
fluid  into  the  cracks  of  a  strong  box  is  obsolete.  I 
hold  that  such  a  procedure  is  vulgar,  besides  being 
calculated  to  make  an  ugly  noise  when  not  perfectly 


BLACKSHEEP !  BLACKSHEEP !       65 

muffled.  By  George,  Archie,  it  occurs  to  me  that 
you  must  have  left  your  kit  behind  you  in  that  absurd 
drug  store  at  the  Harbor!  It  is  just  as  well  that 
you  are  no  longer  encumbered  with  those  playthings. 
Trust  the  Governor  in  future.  I'm  yearning  for  a 
cool  grapefruit,  so  bestir  yourself." 

"I  want  to  learn  all  the  modern  improvements," 
said  Archie,  fingering  the  burglar  tools.  "I've  been 
playing  the  game  wrong  —  decidedly  wrong  !" 

"My  favorite  pupil!"  cried  the  Governor,  from 
the  tub  in  which  he  was  already  rolling  and  splash 
ing.  "You  shall  be  my  successor  when  I  pass  on  to 
other  fields.  Destiny  has  thrown  you  in  my  path 
for  this  very  purpose.  You  will  rank  high  among 
the  crooks  of  all  history,  the  king  of  the  underworld, 
feared  and  loved  by  the  great  comradeship  who  prey 
upon  the  world  by  night !" 

Archie  felt  very  humble  under  these  promises  and 
prophecies,  and  wondered  whether  there  was  really 
deep  down  in  his  soul  some  moral  obliquity  that  the 
acute  master  crook  had  detected  and  responded  to. 
There  had  been  clergymen  and  philanthropists  among 
Archie's  forebears,  but  never  murderer  or  thief,  and 
he  was  half-persuaded  that  he  was  the  predestined 
black  sheep  that  he  had  always  heard  gave  a  spot  of 
color  to  the  whitest  flock. 

At  the  breakfast  table  the  Governor  scanned  a  local 
paper  and  with  a  chirrup  passed  it  to  Archie,  point 
ing  to  a  double-column  headline  : 

A  CARNIVAL  OF  BURGLARY  IN  MAINE 

Archie's  eyes  fell  upon  the  bizarre  photograph  of  a 
dead  man  with  which  the  page  was  illustrated,  and 


66  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

he  choked  on  a  fragment  of  grapefruit  as  he  read 
the  inscription:  "Dead  Thief,  Identity  Unknown." 

It  was  a  ghastly  thing  with  which  to  be  confronted  ; 
and  his  perturbation  increased  as  he  read  an  account 
of  the  killing.  It  was  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Waldo 
S.  Cummings,  a  cottager,  that  the  man  had  been 
shot,  the  mortal  wound  being  inflicted  by  the  house 
holder's  son,  after  an  exciting  battle.  The  dead 
body  of  the  burglar  had  been  found  on  the  shore  and 
the  whole  coast  was  being  searched  for  his  accom 
plice. 

"That's  poor  old  Hoky  all  right,"  murmured  the 
Governor,  buttering  a  piece  of  toast  reflectively. 
"How  indecent  to  prop  up  a  corpse  that  way  and 
take  a  snapshot  merely  to  satisfy  the  morbid  curiosity 
of  a  silly  public  !  As  you  seem  to  be  entranced  with 
the  literary  style  of  our  Bailey  Harbor  correspondent, 
I  shall  take  the  liberty  of  helping  you  to  a  fried  egg." 

However,  Archie's  appetite  was  pretty  effectually 
spoiled  by  this  paragraph  : 

An  odd  circumstance,  more  or  less  remotely  connected 
with  the  killing  of  the  burglar  in  the  fashionable  colony 
still  remains  to  be  explained.  Officer  Yerkes  shortly 
before  two  o'clock,  the  hour  at  which  the  thief  was  shot 
in  Mr.  Cummings's  home,  saw  a  man  hurrying  through 
Water  Street.  He  bore  the  appearance  of  a  gentleman, 
and  the  officer  did  not  accost  him,  thinking  him  a  yachts 
man  from  one  of  the  boats  in  the  harbor  who  had  been 
visiting  friends  ashore.  Yerkes  says  that  the  man  walked 
oddly,  pausing  now  and  then  as  though  in  pain,  and  was 
carrying  his  right  hand  upon  his  left  shoulder.  Owing  to 
the  poor  lighting  of  Water  Street  —  a  matter  that  has 
been  a  subject  of  frequent  complaint  to  the  city  authori 
ties —  Yerkes  was  unable  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
stranger's  features.  This  morning  drops  of  blood  were 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       67 

found  on  the  board  walk  crossed  by  the  stranger  where 
Officer  Yerkes  had  seen  him,  and  it  is  believed  that  this 
was  another  of  the  burglar-gang  who  was  wounded  in  a 
struggle  somewhere  in  the  interior  and  was  seeking  the 
help  of  his  confederate,  presumably  the  man  shot  in  the 
Cummings  house. 

As  the  paper  fell  from  Archie's  hand  the  Governor 
took  it  up. 

"You  seem  agitated,  Archie!  You  must  learn  to 
conceal  your  feelings  !" 

When  he  had  read  the  paragraph  he  glanced 
quickly  at  Archie,  whose  fork  was  beating  a  queer 
tattoo  on  his  plate. 

"Your  work  possibly?"  murmured  the  Governor. 
"Compose  yourself.  That  old  lady  over  there  has 
her  eye  on  you.  I'm  afraid  you  lied  to  me  about 
the  drug  store,  for  if  you'd  done  any  shooting  in  that 
neighborhood  you  would  never  have  got  out  of  town 
alive!  No!"  —  he  held  up  his  hand  warningly - 
"tell  me  nothing!  But  if  we've  got  a  murder  be 
hind  us,  we  shall  certainly  be  most  circumspect  in 
our  movements.  That's  all  piffle  about  Hoky  having 
any  confederate  except  me.  And  there's  not  a  single 
one  of  the  great  comradeship  on  this  shore  —  I  know 
that ;  no  one  who  knows  the  password  of  the  inner 
door.  You  interest  me  more  and  more,  Archie !  I 
congratulate  you  on  your  splendid  nerve." 

Archie's  nerve  was  nothing  he  could  admire  him 
self,  but  a  second  cup  of  coffee  put  warmth  into  his 
vitals  and  he  recovered  sufficiently  to  pay  the  break 
fast  check.  If  it  was  Congdon  he  had  shot  there  was 
still  the  hope,  encouraged  by  the  newspaper,  that 
the  wounded  man  was  in  no  haste  to  report  his  in 
jury  to  the  police.  But  Archie  found  little  comfort 


68  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

in  the  thought  that  somewhere  in  the  world  there 
was  a  man  he  had  shot  and  perhaps  fatally  wounded. 
He  must  conceal  his  anxious  concern  from  the 
Governor ;  for  more  than  ever  he  must  rely  upon  his 
strange  friend  for  assistance  in  escaping  from  the  con 
sequences  of  the  duel  in  the  Congdon  cottage. 

Ill 

"I  was  thinking,"  remarked  the  Governor,  after 
a  long  reverie,  "that  it  would  be  only  decent  for  me 
to  run  back  to  Bailey  Harbor  and  attend  poor  Hoky's 
funeral." 

Archie  stared  aghast. 

"Hoky  was  my  friend,"  the  Governor  continued. 
"The  newspaper  says  he's  to  be  buried  in  the  Potter's 
Field  this  afternoon,  and  it  will  only  set  us  back  a 
day  in  our  plans.  I  can  imagine  how  desperately 
forlorn  the  thing  will  be.  Some  parson  will  say  a 
perfunctory  prayer  for  a  poor  devil  he  believes  to 
have  gone  straight  to  the  fiery  pit  and  they'll  bury 
him  in  a  pauper's  grave.  There  will  be  the  usual 
morbidly  curious  crowd  hanging  round,  wagging  their 
heads  and  whispering.  I  shall  go,  Archie,  and  you 
can  wait  for  me.  It  will  take  only  a  few  hours  and 
we  can  spend  the  night  here  and  resume  our  journey 


tomorrow." 


"But  a  stranger  appearing  there!  It's  danger 
ous  !"  Archie  protested.  "  I  wouldn't  go  back  there 
for  a  million  dollars!" 

"Hoky  would  have  taken  the  chance  for  me," 
said  the  Governor,  firmly.  "The  whole  shore  teems 
with  tourists,  and  I'll  leave  it  to  your  judgment 
v/hether  any  one  would  take  me  for  a  crook.  Be 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       69 

careful  of  my  feelings,  Archie ;  I'm  just  a  little  emo 
tional  today.  Hoky  and  I  have  run  before  the 
hounds  too  often  for  me  to  desert  him  now.  The 
people  up  there  may  think  what  they  please  and  go 
to  the  devil !  Hoky  had  ideals  of  a  sort ;  he  never 
squealed  on  a  pal;  he  was  as  loyal  as  the  summer 
sun  to  ripening  corn." 

The  Governor's  interest  in  Hoky's  obsequies  was 
chivalrous  beyond  question,  but  Archie  resented  be 
ing  left  alone.  The  Governor's  departure  struck 
him  in  all  the  circumstances  as  a  base  desertion,  and 
forlorn  and  frightened  he  locked  himself  in  his  room, 
expecting  that  any  moment  the  police  would  batter 
down  the  door.  The  waiting  for  this  catastrophe 
became  intolerable  and  after  an  hour  of  it  he  went 
downstairs  meditating  a  walk  to  the  wharves.  A 
young  woman  stood  at  the  desk  talking  to  the  clerk, 
who  scanned  the  pages  of  the  register  and  shook  his 
head. 

"No  Mrs.  Congdon  has  registered  here  within  a 
week,  I'm  sure.  Will  you  leave  any  message?" 

She  said  no  and  asked  about  trains. 

"Did  you  want  something,  Mr.  Comly?"  the 
clerk  asked  courteously. 

Archie  had  paused  by  the  desk,  staring  open- 
mouthed  at  the  young  woman,  who  was  asking  the 
boy  who  held  her  bag  to  summon  a  taxi.  If  he  was 
still  possessed  of  his  senses  the  girl  in  the  gray  tail 
ored  suit  was  Isabel  Perry.  The  walls  of  the  hotel 
office  appeared  to  be  tipping  toward  him.  Isabel 
might  have  come  to  Portsmouth  in  answer  to  the 
prayer  of  his  heart,  but  not  Isabel  asking  for  Mrs. 
Congdon.  Isabel  had  glanced  carelessly  in  his  di 
rection  as  the  clerk  addressed  him  as  Mr.  Comly 


70       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

and  he  had  promptly  raised  his  hat,  only  to  be  met 
with  a  reluctant  nod  and  a  look  of  displeasure  with 
connotations  of  alarm.  Having  dramatized  himself 
as  appearing  before  her,  a  splendid  heroic  figure,  to 
receive  her  praise  for  his  exploits,  this  reception  was 
all  but  the  last  straw  to  his  spirit.  Moreover,  she 
was  walking  toward  the  door  as  though  anxious  to 
escape  from  him. 

He  darted  after  her,  resolved  to  risk  another  snub 
before  allowing  her  to  slip  away  ignorant  of  the  vast 
change  that  had  been  wrought  in  him  since  their 
meeting  in  Washington.  A  taxi  was  not  immediately 
forthcoming  and  she  frowned  impatiently  as  he  ap 
peared  beside  her.  A  frowning  Isabel  had  not 
entered  into  his  calculations  at  all ;  it  was  a  mirth 
ful,  light-hearted  Isabel  he  was  carrying  in  his 
heart.  He  would  affect  gaiety;  he  would  let  her 
see  that  he  was  a  dare-devil,  the  man  she  would 
have  him  be. 

"Really!"  he  exclaimed,  twittering  like  an  im 
becile,  "isn't  it  jolly  that  we've  met  in  this  way?" 

"I'm  not  so  sure  of  that!  May  I  ask  just  why 
you  are  here  under  an  assumed  name  ?  " 

"Well,  you  know,"  he  began,  his  lips  twitching  as 
he  mopped  his  face,  "you  told  me  to  throw  a  brick 
at  the  world  and  I've  been  following  your  advice." 
Under  her  stoical  scrutiny  his  voice  squeaked  hys 
terically.  "It's  perfectly  jolly,  the  life  I'm  lead 
ing  !  You  never  heard  of  anything  so  wild  and  devil 
ish  !  Miss  Perry,  behold  your  handiwork!" 

Perspiring,  stuttering,  with  the  glitter  of  madness 
in  his  eyes,  he  was  not  on  the  whole  an  object  to  be 
proud  of,  and  there  was  no  pride  or  joy  manifest  in 
Miss  Isabel  Perry  as  she  observed  him  'critically, 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       71 

with  the  detachment  of  one  who  observes  a  wild  ani 
mal  in  a  menagerie.  Her  silence  moved  him  to  fur 
ther  frantic  efforts  to  impress  her  with  the  fact  that 
he  was  now  a  character  molded  to  her  hand. 

"You  were  asking  for  Mrs.  Congdon ;  Mrs.  Put 
ney  Congdon,  I  suppose  ?  Well,  I  certainly  could  tell 
you  a  story  if  you  would  give  me  time  !  What  I 
don't  know  about  the  Congdon  family  wouldn't 
make  a  large  book  !  Ha,  ha !  But  if  I  had  known 
Mrs.  Congdon  was  a  friend  of  yours  I  should  have 
acted  differently,  very  differently  indeed." 

He  was  attracting  attention.  The  porter,  the 
bell-boy  supporting  Isabel's  bag,  and  a  few  passers- 
by  paused,  amused  by  the  spectacle  of  a  heated  gen 
tleman  earnestly  addressing  a  young  woman  who 
seemed  greatly  annoyed  by  his  attentions. 

The  taxi  drew  up  and  she  stepped  into  it,  but  he 
landed  beside  her,  flinging  a  handful  of  silver  on  the 
walk  and  taking  her  suit-case  on  his  knees. 

"This  is  unpardonable!  If  it  hadn't  been  for 
making  a  scene  I  should  have  told  the  porter  to  throw 
you  out !" 

His  teeth  chattered  as  he  tried  to  throw  a  con 
ciliatory  tone  into  his  speech  without  losing  his  air 
of  bravado. 

"You  know  you're  responsible  for  everything! 
I  see  life  differently,  really  I  do  1  And  this  is  so 
beautifully  romantic,  running  into  you  here,  of  all 
places!" 

"I  think,"  she  said,  sweeping  him  with  a  look  of 
scorn,  "that  you've  been  following  me  or  were  put 
here  to  watch  me  !" 

"Oh,  that's  unkind,  most  unkind  !  Purely  chance, 
—  the  usual  way,  you  know !  How  do  you  imagine 


72  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

I  should  be  watching  you  with  anything  but  the 
noblest  intentions  ?" 

"You  went  to  Bailey  Harbor  to  look  at  a  cottage 
for  Mrs.  Featherstone,  didn't  you  ?  Putney  Cong- 
don  was  there,  wasn't  he  ?  And  why  are  you 
loitering  here  when  you  were  so  eager  to  get  away  to 
the  Rockies?" 

At  the  mention  of  Putney  Congdon  a  laugh,  the 
sharp  concatenation  of  a  lunatic  caused  the  driver 
to  glance  round  apprehensively. 

"That's  the  scream  of  it,  you  know!"  Archie 
cried.  "I  don't  know  for  the  life  of  me  whether 
it  was  Putney  Congdon  I  shot  at  the  Congdon 
house  or  Hoky,  the  burglar.  They're  burying  Hoky 
today  and  my  partner  in  crime  —  wonderful  chap 
—  insisted  on  going  to  the  funeral.  You  couldn't 
beat  that !  And  it's  so  deliciously  funny  that  you 
should  be  looking  for  Mrs.  Congdon,  who  may  be  a 
widow  for  all  I  know ! " 

"A  widow!"  Isabel,  with  her  hand  clutching  the 
door,  swung  upon  him  with  consternation  and  fear 
clearly  depicted  in  her  face. 

Her  astonishment  moved  him  to  greater  hilarity. 
Seeing  that  he  had  at  last  impressed  her,  he  re 
doubled  his  efforts  to  be  entertaining. 

"Oh,  that's  the  mystery  just  at  present,  whether 
poor  old  Putney  is  dead  or  not !  No  great  loss, 
I  imagine !  But  where  do  you  suppose  Mrs.  Cong 
don  went  to  hide  her  children  from  the  brute?" 

"That's  exactly  what  I  suspected  !"  she  exclaimed 
furiously.  "You  are  waiting  here  to  find  that  out ! 
How  can  you  play  the  spy  for  him  !  You  talk  about 
shooting  a  man !  Why,  you  haven't  the  moral 
courage  to  kill  a  flea!  The  kindest  interpretation 


BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP !  73 

I  can  put  upon  your  actions  is  to  assume  that  you 
are  hopelessly  mad." 

They  had  reached  the  station,  and  she  jumped  out 
and  snatched  her  bag.  He  gave  the  driver  a  five 
dollar  bill  and  dashed  across  the  platform  only  to 
see  her  vanish  into  the  vestibule  of  a  Boston  train 
just  as  it  was  drawing  out. 

He  walked  to  the  water  front  firmly  resolved  to 
drown  himself,  but  his  courage  failing  he  yielded 
himself  luxuriously  to  melancholy  reflections.  In 
stead  of  expressing  delight  at  finding  him  reveling 
in  villainy,  Isabel  had  made  it  disagreeably  clear 
that  she  not  only  was  not  delighted  but  that  she 
thought  him  a  dreadful  liar,  a  spy  upon  her  actions 
and  possibly  other  things  equally  unflattering. 
Why  she  should  think  him  capable  of  spying  upon 
her  movements,  he  did  not  know,  nor  was  he  likely 
to  learn  in  the  future  that  hung  darkly  before  him. 
As  he  pondered  there  was  nothing  more  startling 
in  the  fact  that  he  had  not  hurried  on  to  Banff  than 
that  she  should  be  in  Portsmouth  when  she  had  told 
him  she  was  leaving  Washington  immediately  for 
the  girls'  camp  in  Michigan. 

Congdon  was  a  name  of  evil  omen.  What  business 
could  Isabel  have  with  that  unhappy  lady  that  would 
cause  her  to  delay  her  departure  for  the  West  ?  His 
intimations  that  Putney  Congdon  might  be  dead 
had  filled  her  with  horror,  and  yet  she  had  hinted 
at  his  sister's  dinner  that  the  taking  of  human  life 
was  a  small  matter.  That  a  girl  so  wholly  charm 
ing  and  persuasive  at  a  dinner  table  could  be  so 
stern  and  unreasonable  at  a  chance  meeting  after 
ward,  shook  his  confidence  in  her  sex,  which  that 
memorable  meeting  had  done  much  to  establish 


74  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

upon  firm  ground.  He  had  been  wholly  stupid 
and  tactless  in  pouncing  upon  her  with  what  he 
realized,  under  the  calming  influences  of  the  brisk 
sea  air,  must  have  struck  her  as  the  vaporings  of  a 
dangerous  lunatic.  He  had  never  been  clever;  he 
smarted  now  under  the  revelation  that  all  things 
considered  he  was  an  immitigable  ass. 

He  went  back  to  the  hotel  bitter  but  fortified  by 
a  resolution  that  nothing  should  check  him  now  in 
his  desperate  career.  He  had  quarreled  with  the 
inspiration  of  his  new  life,  but  in  the  end  Isabel 
should  have  reason  to  know  how  unjust  she  had  been. 
It  was  something  after  all  to  have  seen  her,  per 
plexed,  anxious  and  angry  though  she  had  been. 
She  was  still  the  most  wonderful  girl  he  had  ever  met, 
the  more  remarkable  for  the  fact  that  now  she  had 
gone  he  had  not  the  slightest  idea  of  what  had 
brought  her  into  the  strange  world  inhabited  by 
the  quarreling  and  fleeing  Congdons.  But  men  had 
suffered  before  for  love  of  woman  and  he  would 
bear  his  martyrdom  manfully,  keeping  the  humil 
iating  interview  carefully  from  the  Governor. 

The  Governor  returned  from  Hoky's  funeral 
somewhat  wistful,  but  he  described  the  burial  with 
his  accustomed  enthusiasm. 

"  It  will  be  one  of  the  satisfactions  of  my  life  that 
I  went,"  he  declared.  "They  didn't  have  the 
decency  to  bring  in  a  minister  —  fancy  it !  Blessed 
if  I  didn't  step  into  the  breach  and  make  a  few 
remarks  myself!  I  did,  indeed,  Archie,  right  there 
in  the  undertaker's  joint,  with  a  lot  of  bumpkins 
staring !  No  man  sinks  so  low  that  he  hasn't  got 
some  good  in  him ;  that  was  the  burden  of  my  argu 
ment.  The  sheriff"  came  up  and  wrung  my  hand 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       75 

when  it  was  all  over.  He  had  heard  my  little 
sermon  and  I  suppose  thought  I  was  some  rich  and 
influential  philanthropist ;  so  I  let  it  go  at  that." 


IV 

The  next  morning  he  announced  Cornford  as 
their  next  stopping  point,  a  town,  he  explained, 
whose  history  thrust  far  back  into  colonial  times. 
When  they  were  seated  in  the  parlor  car  he  tossed 
a  bundle  of  magazines  into  Archie's  lap. 

"It  will  amuse  you  to  know  that  one  of  the  police 
men  we  met  on  the  road  looking  for  Hoky's  accom 
plice  is  standing  on  the  platform.  He's  just  in 
spected  the  day  coaches ;  —  never  occurs  to  him 
that  knaves  of  our  degree  travel  de  luxe." 

He  yawned  as  the  train  started  and  drew  a  small 
volume  from  his  pocket. 

"I  shall  lose  myself  in  old  Horatius  Flaccus  for 
an  hour.  It's  odd  but  I  always  do  my  best  con 
centrating  with  a  poet  before  me.  And  what  you 
said  yesterday  about  those  new  bank  notes  Leary 
has  hid  up  here  disturbed  me  just  a  little.  You 
can't  trust  fellows  of  old  Leary's  type  with  a  matter 
so  delicate  as  launching  new  money,  where  the  num 
bers,  as  you  so  sagely  remarked,  are  being  looked 
for  by  every  bank  teller  in  America.  I  have  a  hunch 
that  something  unusual  will  happen  before  the 
summer's  over,  and  we  must  be  primed  for  every 
emergency." 

Archie  saw  that  it  was  really  a  volume  of  the 
Horatian  odes  in  which  his  singular  companion  had 
become  engrossed.  The  Governor  was  utterly  be 
yond  him  and  he  stared  out  moodily  at  the  flying 


76       BLACKSHEEP !  BLACKSHEEP ! 

landscape,  hating  himself  cordially  as  he  thought  of 
Isabel  Perry  and  living  over  again  the  exciting  mo 
ments  in  the  Congdon  house  that  preluded  this 
strange  journeying  with  a  scholarly  criminal  who 
evidently  derived  the  deepest  satisfaction  from  the 
perusal  of  Latin  poetry.  The  Governor  broke  in 
upon  his  reflections  occasionally  to  read  him  a 
favorite  passage  or  to  ask  questions,  flattering  to 
Archie's  learning,  as  to  possible  interpretations  of 
the  venerated  text. 

The  Cornford  Inn  proved  to  be  a  quaint  old  tavern, 
modernized,  and  its  patrons,  the  Governor  explained, 
were  limited  to  cultivated  people  who  sought  the 
peace  and  calm  of  the  hills.  After  a  leisurely  luncheon 
they  took  their  coffee  in  a  pleasant  garden  on  one 
side  of  the  house. 

"One  might  be  in  France  or  Italy,"  remarked  the 
Governor,  lighting  a  cigar.  "An  ideal  place; 
socially  most  exclusive,  and  I  trust  we  shall  have 
no  reason  to  regret  our  visit." 

"That  depends,"  said  Archie,  inspecting  the  end 
of  his  cigarette,  "o  i  whether  we  are  transferred  to 
the  county  jail  or  not." 

"Your  apprehensions  are  as  absurd  as  they  are 
groundless,  my  dear  boy.  We  could  cash  checks 
for  any  reasonable  sum  in  this  caravanserai  merely 
on  our  appearance  as  men  of  education  and  property. 
Even  in  stolen  clothes  you  look  like  a  capitalist." 

Two  men  came  into  the  garden  and  seated  them 
selves  at  a  table  on  the  other  side  of  a  screen  of 
shrubbery.  They  ordered  coffee  and  one  of  them 
remarked  upon  the  recent  prevalence  of  crime  in 
New  England. 

"A  thief  was  shot  at  Bailey  Harbor  night  before 


BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP !  77 

last  and  there  seems  to  be  a  band  of  crooks  operating 
all  along  the  coast." 

"We  need  a  better  type  of  men  in  Congress,"  said 
the  Governor  in  a  loud  tone,  with  a  wink  at  Archie. 
"There's  a  steady  deterioration  in  the  quality  of  our 
representatives  in  both  houses." 

"You  are  right,"  Archie  responded,  remembering 
with  a  twinge  of  conscience  his  congressman  brother- 
in-law. 

The  Governor  nodded  to  Archie  to  keep  on  talking, 
while  he  played  the  role  of  eavesdropper. 

"You  oughtn't  to  have  carried  that  cash  up  here," 
came  in  a  low  tone  from  the  hedge.  "The  old  man 
is  a  fool  or  he  wouldn't  have  suggested  such  a  thing." 

"Well,  he  wrote  that  he  was  coming  here  to  spend 
a  week  and  in  his  characteristic  fashion  said  if  I 
wanted  his  stock  I  could  bring  the  currency  here 
and  close  the  transaction.  The  Congdons  are  all 
a  lot  of  cranks,  you  know.  This  old  curmudgeon 
carries  a  small  fortune  around  with  him  all  the  time, 
and  never  accepts  a  check  in  any  transaction." 

The  Governor  grew  more  eloquent  in  his  attempt 
to  convince  Archie  of  the  decadence  of  American 
statesmanship,  while  their  unseen  neighbors,  feeling 
themselves  secure,  continued  their  discussion  of  the 
errand  that  had  brought  them  to  Cornford. 

"You're  paying  the  old  skunk  a  big  price  for  his 
shares!" 

"Well,  I've  got  to  to  keep  them  out  of  hostile 
hands,"  said  the  second  voice  irritably.  "I  don't 
like  the  idea  of  carrying  yellowbacks  around  in  a 
satchel  just  to  humor  a  lunatic.  And  he's  had  the 
nerve  to  write  that  he  won't  be  here  until  tomorrow ! " 

"But  the  cash—" 


78  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"Oh,  it's  all  safe  enough.  No  one  knows  but  that 
I'm  here  just  for  a  rest." 

"Let's  stroll  about  a  little,"  said  the  Governor. 
"We're  not  getting  our  usual  amount  of  exercise, 
and  there's  a  good  bit  of  colonial  history  tucked 
away  in  Cornford." 

He  led  the  way  through  the  garden  to  the  street, 
and  bade  Archie  proceed  slowly  to  the  post  office 
while  he  walked  toward  the  main  entrance  of  the  inn. 

Archie  was  buying  stamps  for  which  he  had  no 
immediate  use  when  the  Governor  joined  him. 

"These  chaps  were  quite  providentially  in  the 
office  calling  for  their  keys  so  I  had  no  trouble  in 
identifying  them.  Seebrook  and  Walters  are  the 
names.  Seebrook,  the  older  chap,  has  his  daughter 
with  him.  They  have  rooms  on  the  floor  below  us." 

"You  don't  think  they've  got  any  considerable 
sum  of  money  with  them,  do  you  ?"  asked  Archie 
breathlessly. 

"That  remains  to  be  seen !  Did  you  notice  their 
reference  to  a  man  named  Congdon  ?  Singular 
how  I  keep  running  into  members  of  that  tribe. 
I'm  beginning  to  think  there's  a  fatality  in  the 
name !" 

Archie  glanced  at  him  covertly.  He  too  felt  that 
there  was  something  decidedly  strange  in  the  way 
the  name  haunted  him,  but  the  Governor  had  picked 
up  a  local  guide  book  and  was  pointing  out  objects 
of  interest  as  they  wended  their  way  along  the  street. 
Archie's  wits  had  never  been  so  taxed  as  since  he 
had  fired  a  pistol,  more  or  less  with  intent  to  kill, 
in  the  house  of  Putney  Congdon,  but  it  was  in 
credible  that  the  Governor  could  know  aught  of 
that  matter.  The  Governor,  however,  was  mani- 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       79 

festing  the  greatest  interest  in  Cornford  history, 
halting  citizens  to  propound  inquiries  as  to  land 
marks,  and  pausing  before  the  town  hall  to  make 
elaborate  notes  of  a  tablet  struck  in  memory  of  the 
first  selectmen. 

When  they  reached  the  green,  which  the  town's 
growth  had  left  to  one  side,  he  sat  down  on  a  bench 
and  directed  attention  to  a  church  whose  history  he 
read  impressively  from  the  book. 

"That  carries  us  back  quite  a  way  beyond  the 
Revolution.  No  longer  used  but  reverently  pre 
served  for  its  associations.  And  in  the  cellar  of  that 
simple  edifice  where  the  early  colonists  used  to  hide 
from  predatory  Indians,  is  hidden  fifty  thousand 
dollars.  A  suit-case  all  ready  to  snatch,  thrust 
under  the  bin  where  the  worshipers  of  old  kept  the 
Sunday  wood  !" 

"I  suppose  it  might  rot  there  and  nobody  be  the 
wiser?"  muttered  Archie,  glancing  at  the  venerable 
meeting  house  with  awakened  interest. 

"Quite  true!  But  it  must  be  saved  from  de 
struction.  We  mustn't  fail  Leary;  he's  put  his 
trust  in  me.  It's  our  job  to  recover  the  funds,  and 
if  I  never  ask  you  to  join  me  in  anything  more 
perilous  you'll  have  occasion  to  congratulate  your 
self.  There  are  two  automobiles  at  the  church 
door  now  —  tourists,  having  a  look  at  the  relic,  and 
their  presence  will  neatly  cover  our  visit." 

They  found  half  a  dozen  visitors  roaming  through 
the  church,  opening  and  closing  the  doors  of  the  old 
pews.  Archie  was  accosted  by  a  stout  lady  in  quest 
of  just  the  information  he  had  gained  from  the  guide 
book.  He  courteously  answered  her  questions  and 
found  the  other  sightseers  pressing  round  to  share  in 


8o  BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP ! 

his  lecture  on  the  Cornford  meeting  house.  When  he 
had  imparted  everything  he  knew  and  added  a  few 
fanciful  touches  to  improve  the  story,  he^  turned  to 
look  for  the  Governor. 

"If  you  want  to  see  the  cellar,  don't  tumble  down 
the  steps  as  I  did,"  called  a  cheery^  voice  from  the 
entry;  "it's  an  abominable  hole!" 

Being  an  abominable  hole  the  visitors  laughingly 
surged  toward  the  door  to  explore  it,  and  the 
Governor  struck  matches  to  light  their  descent. 

He  brushed  the  dust  from  his  knees  and  mopped 
his  face  until  the  voices  below  receded. 

"All  safe  and  sound !  Stuck  it  out  through  a 
back  window  into  a  lilac  bush,  and  we'll  pick  it  up 
at  our  leisure.  You  may  not  have  noticed  that  this 
old  pile  is  built  up  against  an  abandoned  mill.  We 
shall  loiter  back  to  the  inn  carrying  the  loot  quite 
boldly  with  us.  You  might  lug  it  yourself  as  Fm 
a  little  warm  from  digging  the  thing  up  —  Leary 
had  burrowed  under  the  wood  bin  and  hidden  it 
for  keeps." 

To  be  sauntering  in  broad  daylight  through  the 
principal  thoroughfare  of  a  serene  New  England 
town  carrying  a  suit-case  filled  with  stolen  money 
was  still  another  experience  that  made  Archie  feel 
that  he  had  indeed  entered  upon  a  new  manner  of 
life.  The  Governor  with  a  spray  of  lilac  in  his  lapel 
had  never  been  in  better  spirits. 

"That's  a  very  decent  suit-case  and  you  can  hand 
it  to  a  bell  hop  and  bid  him  fly  with  it  to  your 
room.  You  were  a  little  short  of  linen  and  made 
a  few  purchases  —  the  thing  explains  itself.  Who 
could  challenge  us,  Archie !  We'd  make  a  plausible 
front  in  Buckingham  palace." 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       81 

They  followed  the  suit-case  upstairs,  where  the 
Governor  unlocked  it  with  an  implement  that  looked 
like  a  nut  pick.  Archie's  last  vestige  of  doubt  as 
to  the  Governor's  powers  vanished  when  he  saw 
that  the  bag  was  filled  with  packages  of  bank  notes 
in  small  denominations. 

"One  might  object  to  so  many  of  the  little 
fellows,"  remarked  the  Governor,  "but  on  the  whole 
we  have  no  reason  to  complain  of  Leary's  work. 
The  rascal  is  anxious  to  settle  down  in  some  strictly 
moral  community  and  open  a  confectionery  shop 
—  one  of  these  little  concerns  where  the  neighbor 
hood  children  bring  in  their  pennies  for  sodas  and 
chewing-gum,  with  a  line  of  late  magazines  on  the 
side.  A  kind,  genial  man  is  Leary,  and  he  swears 
he'll  abandon  the  road  for  good." 

Archie  picked  up  several  bundles  of  the  bills  and 
turned  them  over,  reflecting  that  to  his  other  crimes 
he  had  now  added  the  receipt  and  concealment  of 
stolen  money. 

"Dinner  in  an  hour,  Archie,"  said  the  Governor, 
who  was  drawing  a  diagram  of  some  sort  on  a  sheet 
of  inn  paper.  "The  evening  meal  is  rather  a  cere 
monial  affair  here  and  as  I  notice  that  you  carry 
a  dress  suit  we  shall  follow  the  conventions.  Mean 
while  I  wish  you  would  look  in  at  Barclay  &  Ped- 
ding's  garage,  just  around  the  corner,  and  ask  if 
a  car  has  been  left  there  for  Mr.  Reginald  H. 
Saulsbury.  You  needn't  be  afraid  of  getting 
pinched,  for  the  machine  was  acquired  by  purchase 
and  I'm  merely  borrowing  it  from  Abe  Collins, 
alias  Slippery  Abe,  the  king  of  all  con  men.  Abe 
only  plays  for  suckers  of  financial  prominence  who'd 
gladly  pay  a  second  time  not  to  be  exposed  and  he's 


82       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

grown  so  rich  that  he's  retiring  this  summer.  He 
was  to  send  a  machine  to  me  here  so  I  could  avoid 
the  petty  annoyances  of  travel  in  a  stolen  car. 
We'll  leave  here  like  honest  men,  with  the  landlord 
bowing  us  away  from  the  door." 

That  there  should  indeed  be  a  handsome  touring 
car  at  Barclay  &  Pedding's,  awaiting  the  pleasure 
of  Mr.  Saulsbury,  increased  enormously  Archie's 
respect  and  admiration  for  the  Governor.  It  was 
a  first-class  machine  worth  four  or  five  thousand 
dollars  as  it  stood,  and  Archie  was  cheered  by  the 
thought  that  he  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  a  man 
who  satisfied  all  his  needs  with  so  little  trouble. 

When  he  returned  the  Governor  was  dressing  and 
manifested  no  surprise  that  the  car  awaited  his 
pleasure. 

"Yes,  of  course,"  he  remarked  absently.  "You 
can  always  rely  on  Abe.  It's  time  for  you  to  dress, 
and  we  must  look  our  prettiest.  I  caught  a  glimpse 
of  Miss  Seebrook  strolling  through  the  garden  with 
her  papa  a  bit  ago.  It  may  be  necessary  for  you  to 
cultivate  her  a  trifle.  A  little  flirting  now  and  then 
is  relished  by  the  wisest  men." 

"If  you  think  -  "  began  Archie  warily. 

"Of  course  I  think  1"  the  Governor  interrupted. 
"We've  got  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  nice  new  bills 
here  and  we're  not  going  to  the  trouble  of  staining 
and  mussing  them  up  for  safe  circulation  if  we  can 
dispose  of  them  en  bloc,  so  to  speak,  in  all  their  pris 
tine  freshness.  There's  to  be  a  dance  in  the  dining 
hall  as  soon  as  dinner  is  over.  The  house  is  quite 
full  and  we  shall  mingle  freely  in  the  merry  throng. 
I'll  go  down  ahead  of  you  and  test  the  social  atmos 
phere  a  little. 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       83 

When  Archie  reached  the  parlors  half  an  hour 
later  he  found  the  Governor  engaged  in  lively 
conversation  with  a  gentleman  he  introduced  im 
mediately  as  Mr.  Seebrook. 

"And  Mr.  Walters,  Mr.  Comly,  and—' 

"Mr.  Saulsbury  and  Mr.  Comly,  my  daughter, 
Miss  Seebrook/' 

The  girl  had  just  joined  her  father  and  his  friend. 
She  acknowledged  the  introduction  with  an  in 
clusive  smile  and  nod.  Archie's  spirits,  which 
drooped  whenever  he  was  deprived  of  the  Governor's 
enlivening  presence  for  a  few  minutes,  were  revived 
by  this  fresh  demonstration  of  the  rascal's  daring 
effrontery.  Seebrook  and  Walters  were  apparently 
accepting  him  at  face  value  in  the  fashion  of  socially 
inclined  travelers  who  meet  in  inns.  To  Archie's 
consternation  the  Governor  began  describing  Hoky's 
funeral,  which  he  did  without  neglecting  any  of  its 
poignant  features  or  neglecting  to  mention  the  few 
remarks  he  had  offered  to  relieve  the  bleakness  of 
the  burglar's  obsequies. 

"That  was  pretty  fine,  wasn't  it  ?"  Miss  Seebrook 
remarked  to  Archie.  "Any  one  would  know  that 
Mr.  Saulsbury  is  just  the  kind  of  man  who  would  do 
that." 

"There's  no  limit  to  his  kindness  and  generosity," 
Archie  replied  with  unfeigned  sincerity. 

"You  are  motoring?"  asked  the  girl.  "We 
drove  through  here  last  fall  to  see  the  foliage,  —  it's 
perfectly  wonderful,  but  I  didn't  know  it  could  be 
so  sweet  at  this  season.  I  adore  summer;  don't 
you  adore  summer,  Mr.  Comly  ?" 

Miss  Seebrook  was  the  most  obvious  of  senti 
mentalists  and  Archie  thought  instantly  how 


84       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

different  she  was  from  Isabel.  But  being  thrown 
in  the  company  of  any  girl  made  possible  the 
concrete  comparison  of  Isabel  with  the  rest  of 
womankind  very  greatly  to  Isabel's  advantage. 
Miss  Seebrook  was  about  Isabel's  age,  but  she  spoke 
in  a  languid  purring  voice  that  was  wholly  unlike 
Isabel's  crisp,  direct  manner  of  speech.  Her  father 
had  come  up  on  some  tiresome  business  matter, 
bringing  Mr.  Walters,  who,  it  seemed,  was  his 
attorney,  and  she  confessed  that  they  talked  business 
a  great  deal,  which  bored  her  immensely. 

"I  judge,  Mr.  Comly,  that  you  are  one  of  those 
fortunate  men  who  can  throw  business  to  the  winds 
and  have  a  good  time  without  being  bothered  with 
telegrams  from  a  hateful  office." 

Her  assumption  flattered  Archie.  As  his  im 
mediate  concern  was  to  escape  the  consequences  of 
his  folly  in  shooting  a  fellow  mortal,  he  assured  her 
that  he  was  always  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  fling 
business  cares  aside.  She  explained  that  the  inn 
was  much  affected  by  cottagers  in  neighboring  sum 
mer  settlements  and  that  many  of  the  diners  had 
motored  in  for  the  dance.  Seebrook  and  Walters 
were  undoubtedly  enjoying  the  Governor,  proof  of 
which  was  immediately  forthcoming  when  Seebrook 
suggested  that  they  should  all  dine  together. 

"You  do  us  much  honor,"  said  the  Governor. 
"Mr.  Comly  and  I  shall  be  pleased,  I'm  sure." 

Archie  had  often  eaten  alone  in  just  such  pleasant 
little  inns  from  sheer  lack  of  courage  to  make  ac 
quaintances,  but  it  seemed  the  most  natural  thing 
in  the  world  for  the  Governor  to  establish  himself 
on  terms  of  intimacy  with  perfect  strangers.  Their 
party  was  the  merriest  in  the  room,  and  Archie  was 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       85 

aware  of  envious  glances  from  other  tables  that  were 
not  enlivened  by  a  raconteur  so  affable  and  amusing 
as  the  Governor. 

"It's  so  nice  to  stumble  into  a  place  like  this  where 
every  one  may  speak  to  every  one  else  and  be  sure, 
you  know!"  said  Miss  Seebrook. 

"It  does  rather  strengthen  one's  faith  in  the  human 
race,"  Archie  agreed,  reflecting  that  if  she  had 
known  that  upstairs  in  the  amiable  Mr.  Saulsbury's 
room  reposed  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  stolen  money 
her  confidence  in  the  exclusiveness  of  the  Cornford 
Inn  would  have  been  somewhat  shaken.  But  the 
ironic  humor  of  the  whole  thing  overmastered  his 
sense  of  guilt  and  he  managed  to  hold  the  table  for 
a  little  while  without  the  Governor's  assistance  as 
he  talked  of  the  French  chateaux  with  honest 
knowledge.  The  Seebrooks  had  motored  through 
the  chateau  country  the  year  before  the  war  and  as 
Archie  had  once  made  the  excursion  with  an  archi 
tect  he  was  on  firm  ground. 

"There's  a  thorough  man  for  you !"  exclaimed  the 
Governor  proudly  when  Archie  supplied  some  dates 
in  French  history  for  which  Miss  Seebrook  fumbled. 

They  continued  their  talk  over  coffee  served  in 
the  garden.  When  the  music  began  Seebrook  and 
Walters  recalled  a  bridge  engagement  and  the 
Governor  announced  that  he  must  look  up  an  old 
friend  who  lived  in  Cornford.  He  produced  a  piece 
of  paper  on  which  he  had  scratched  one  of  the 
diagrams  he  was  eternally  sketching  as  though 
consulting  a  memorandum  of  an  address. 

"I  shall  be  back  shortly,"  he  said  as  they  sepa 
rated  in  the  office. 

Seebrook  and  Walters  found  their  bridge  partners 


86       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

and  Archie  and  Miss  Seebrook  joined  the  considerable 
company  that  were  already  dancing.  Only  a  few 
days  earlier  nothing  could  have  persuaded  Archie 
to  dance,  but  now  that  he  was  plunged  into  a  life 
of  adventure  the  fear  of  dropping  dead  from  exces 
sive  exercise  no  longer  restrained  him.  Miss  Seebrook 
undoubtedly  enjoyed  dancing  and  after  a  one-step 
and  a  fox-trot  she  declared  that  she  would  just  love 
to  dance  all  night.  It  had  been  a  long  time  since 
Archie  had  heard  a  girl  make  this  highly  unoriginal 
remark,  and  in  his  own  joy  of  the  occasion  he  found 
it  tinkling  pleasantly  in  remote  recesses  of  his 
memory.  As  Miss  Seebrook  pouted  when  he  sug 
gested  that  she  might  like  him  to  introduce  some  of 
the  other  men  and  said  that  she  was  perfectly 
satisfied,  he  hastened  to  assure  her  that  the  role  of 
monopolist  was  wholly  agreeable  to  him.  In  this 
mad  new  life  a  flirtation  was  only  an  incident  of  the 
day's  work,  and  Miss  Seebrook  was  not  at  all  averse 
to  flirting  with  him. 

She  thought  it  would  be  fine  to  take  a  breath  of 
air,  and  gathering  up  her  cloak  they  went  into  the 
garden  for  an  ice.  This  refreshment  ordered  he  was 
conscious  of  new  and  pleasant  thrills  as  he  faced  her 
across  the  table.  His  youth  stirred  in  him  again. 
It  was  reassuring  to  have  this  proof  that  one  might 
be  a  lost  sheep  dyed  to  deepest  black  and  yet  indulge 
in  philandering  under  the  June  stars  with  a  pretty 
girl  —  a  handsome  stately  girl  she  was  !  —  unre 
strained  by  the  thought  that  she  would  run  away 
screaming  for  the  police  if  she  knew  that  he  was  a 
man  who  shot  people  and  consorted  with  thieves  and 
very  likely  would  die  on  the  gallows  or  be  strapped 
in  an  electric  chair  before  he  got  his  deserts.  His 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       87 

mind  had  passed  through  innumerable  phases  since 
he  left  his  sister's  house  in  Washington,  and  now  as 
he  shamelessly  flirted  with  Miss  Seebrook  he  knew 
himself  for  an  unmoral  creature,  a  degenerate  who 
was  all  the  more  dangerous  for  being  able  to  pass 
muster  among  decent  folk.  He  had  always  imag 
ined  that  citizens  of  the  underworld  were  limited 
in  their  social  indulgences  to  cautious  .meetings  in 
the  back  rooms  of  low  saloons,  but  this  he  had  found 
to  be  a  serious  mistake.  It  was  clear  that  the  elite 
among  the  lawless  might  ride  the  high  crest  of  social 
success. 

His  only  nervousness  was  due  to  the  fear  that  he 
might  betray  himself.  It  was  wholly  possible  that 
Miss  Seebrook  knew  some  of  his  friends ;  in  fact 
she  mentioned  a  family  in  Lenox  that  he  knew  very 
well.  She  was  expert  in  all  the  niceties  of  flirtation 
and  he  responded  joyously,  as  surprised  and  delighted 
as  a  child  with  a  new  toy  at  the  ease  with  which  he 
conveyed  to  her  the  idea  that  his  life  had  been  an 
immeasurable  dark  waste  till  she  had  dawned  upon 
his  enraptured  vision.  Her  back  was  toward  the 
inn  and  across  her  shoulders  he  could  see  the  sway 
ing  figures  in  the  ball  room.  The  light  from  a  gar 
den  lamp  played  upon  her  head  and  brightened  in 
her  fair  hair. 

Miss  Seebrook  was  speaking  of  music,  and  reciting 
the  list  of  operas  she  loved  best  when  Archie's  gaze 
was  caught  and  held  by  a  shadow  that  flitted  along 
an  iron  fire  escape  that  zigzagged  down  from  the 
fourth  to  the  first  story  of  the  long  rambling  inn. 

"You  seem  very  dreamy,"  remarked  Miss  See 
brook.  "I  know  how  that  is  for  I  can  dream  for 
hours  and  hours." 


88  BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP ! 

"Yes ;  reverie ;  just  floating  on  clouds,  on  and  on," 
Archie  replied,  though  the  shadow  moving  on  and  on 
along  the  side  of  the  inn  was  troubling  him  not  a  little. 

"The  stars  were  never  so  near  as  they  are  to 
night,"  she  said.  "Was  it  Shakspere  or  Longfellow 
who  said,  'bright  star,  would  I  were  steadfast  as  thou 
art!" 

It  was  neither,  Archie  knew,  but  he  said  he  thought 
the  line  occurred  in  Hamlet. 

"Do  you  think  Hamlet  was  insane?"  she  asked. 

"I  sometimes  think  I  am,"  replied  Archie,  watch 
ing  the  shadow  on  the  inn  wall. 

"Why,  Mr.  Comly,  how  absurd!" 

It  was  really  not  so  absurd  at  the  moment,  but  he 
again  had  recourse  to  the  poets,  devoutly  praying 
that  she  would  not  look  toward  the  inn.  He  had 
surmised  that  the  Governor's  declared  purpose  to 
call  on  an  old  friend  in  Cornford  was  merely  to  cover 
his  withdrawal  from  the  party;  but  that  he  could 
have  meditated  a  predatory  excursion  through  the 
inn  had  not  entered  into  Archie's  speculations  as  to 
his  friend's  absence.  There  was  no  mistaking  the 
figure  that  had  moved  swiftly  down  the  ladder.  The 
Governor  for  a  man  of  his  compact  build  was  amaz 
ingly  agile  and  quick  of  foot  and  hand.  He  was  now 
creeping  along  the  little  balcony  at  the  third  floor. 
He  paused  a  moment  and  then  vanished  into  an  open 
window.  The  Governor  had  said  that  the  Seebrook 
party  had  rooms  just  under  their  own;  but  — 

"I  have  chosen  a  star  for  you,"  Miss  Seebrook  was 
murmuring. 

Archie,  in  his  preoccupation  with  the  Governor's 
strange  performance,  was  so  slow  to  respond  that 
Miss  Seebrook,  thinking  that  he  was  deliberating  as 


BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP !  89 

to  which  star  he  should  bestow  upon  her  in  return, 
generously  broadened  the  scope  of  her  offer. 

"You  shall  have  Orion  or  Arcturus  with  his  sons." 

"I  never  could  find  Orion  even  with  a  sky  map 
and  a  telescope,"  Archie  roused  himself  to  protest. 

Something  very  unlike  a  star  but  more  like  the 
glimmer  of  a  match  in  a  room  on  the  third  floor  held 
his  fascinated  gaze,  and  it  was  difficult  to  be  inter 
ested  in  the  conversation  of  even  so  pretty  a  girl  as 
Miss  Seebrook  when  an  audacious  thief  was  at  work 
only  a  little  way  beyond  her.  For  all  Archie  knew 
it  was  her  own  room  that  the  venturesome  Governor 
was  ransacking  and  at  that  very  moment  he  might 
be  stuffing  his  pockets  with  her  belongings. 

Venus,  Archie  gravely  announced,  had  always  been 
his  favorite  star;  and  he  set  her  to  searching  for  it 
in  the  bright  expanse  while  he  watched  the  Governor 
reappear,  bending  low  as  he  crept  out  of  the  window 
and  ascended  rapidly  to  the  fourth  floor.  He  had 
risked  detection  by  a  dozen  people  who  were  idling 
about  the  garden.  The  intermission  was  over  and 
music  floating  through  the  open  windows  again  in 
vited  to  the  dance. 

"We  must  go  back,  I  suppose,"  said  Miss  See- 
brook  with  a  sigh. 

"I  shall  never  forget  this,"  declared  Archie,  hop 
ing  with  all  his  heart  that  there  would  be  no  occasion 
for  regretting  the  hour  spent  in  the  garden. 

They  danced  again,  and  in  the  handclapping  that 
followed  the  first  number  he  turned  to  find  the  Gov 
ernor,  calm  and  with  no  marks  of  his  escapade  upon 
him,  bowing  before  Miss  Seebrook. 

"  Really,  I  must  break  in  !  Just  a  little  fragment 
of  this  waltz  !  More  capricious  and  jazzy  measures 


90  BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP ! 

have  their  day  but  the  waltz  endures  forever  !  Don't 
frown  at  me  that  way,  Comly  !  My  old  friend  kept 
me  longer  than  I  expected  and  the  night  grows  old." 

The  Governor  danced  with  smoothness  and  ease. 
Archie,  his  back  to  the  wall,  saw  the  rogue  laughing 
into  his  partner's  face  as  lightheartedly  as  though 
he  had  not,  within  a  few  minutes,  imperiled  his 
freedom  in  an  act  of  sheerest  folly. 

He  brought  the  girl  back  to  Archie,  and  then  in 
gratiated  himself  with  a  shy  elderly  woman  who 
was  having  a  difficult  time  finding  partners  for  her 
granddaughters.  The  Governor  introduced  him 
self  with  a  charming  deference,  a  winning  courtesy, 
that  gained  her  heart  at  once.  He  not  only  danced 
with  her  young  charges  but  found  other  partners 
for  them.  Archie  marveled ;  a  man  of  the  Gover 
nor's  intelligence  and  address  could  hardly  have 
failed  to  gain  a  high  place  in  the  world,  yet  his  per 
formance  on  the  fire  escape  proved  all  the  man  had 
said  of  himself  as  an  outlaw.  The  Governor  was 
not  one  man  but  a  dozen  different  men  and  in  despair 
Archie  gave  up  trying  to  account  for  him. 


At  midnight  Seebrook  and  Walters  came  in  from 
their  card  game. 

"We've  certainly  had  the  best  of  you,  papa!  It 
has  been  a  wonderful  evening!"  exclaimed  Miss 
Seebrook. 

"I  knew  it  was  going  to  be  a  good  party,"  said  the 
Governor  warmly .  "I  regretted  every  moment  I  had 
to  spend  with  my  friends  in  Putnam  Street.  And 
yet  should  auld  acquaintance  be  forgot,  you  know!" 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       91 

"You  were  perfectly  lovely  to  that  nice  old  lady 
and  her  frightened  little  granddaughters.  They  will 
never  forget  you  as  long  as  they  live !  And  I'm 
afraid  Mr.  Comly  will  always  remember  me  as  the 
girl  who  kept  him  all  to  herself  for  a  whole  evening." 

"I  didn't  make  it  a  hard  job  for  you,"  Archie 
protested.  "I  shall  mark  the  evening  with  a  white 
stone  on  the  long  journey  of  life." 

"I  hope,  papa,  you  will  add  a  word  to  my  in 
vitation  to  these  gentlemen  to  come  and  see  us  at 
home." 

"Certainly,"  Seebrook  assented  cordially,  drawing 
out  his  card-case. 

"We  shall  be  ready  for  a  little  sociability,"  re 
marked  the  Governor,  "when  we  return  from  the 
West.  We  are  motoring  from  Portland  to  Port 
land,  with  a  few  little  side  trips  like  this,  and  we 
ought  to  have  some  good  yarns  to  tell  when  we  get 
back." 

"You  are  not  running  off  immediately?"  asked 
Walters.  "Mr.  Seebrook  and  I  are  really  here  on 
business,  but  we've  been  delayed  and  may  have  an 
other  day's  time  to  kill.  We'd  be  glad  to  play  around 
with  you." 

"It's  most  lamentable,"  replied  the  Governor, 
"that  we've  got  to  run  away  tomorrow.  It's  now  the 
hour  when  ghosts  walk  but  we  shall  see  you  in  the 
morning." 

In  Archie's  room  the  Governor  hummed  one  of 
his  favorite  ballads  as  he  slipped  out  of  his  coat  and 
picked  a  speck  from  his  snowy  waistcoat.  Then  he 
produced  a  tiny  phial  from  his  pocket  and  touched 
his  upper  lip  with  a  drop  of  the  contents. 

"It's  a  very  curious  thing  about  perfumes,"  he 


92       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

said  meditatively.  "I  carry  an  assortment  of  these 
little  bottles.  The  psychology  of  the  thing  is  most 
interesting.  Fragrances  differ  astonishingly  as  to 
their  reactions  upon  the  nerves.  Only  two  hours 
ago  I  fortified  myself  for  a  little  foolishness  that  re 
quired  nevertheless  a  steady  hand  by  sniffing  the 
bouquet  of  a  rare  perfume  known  only  to  a  few  con 
noisseurs,  —  a  compound  based  upon  attar  of  roses. 
But  this  that  I  have  just  had  recourse  to  is  soothing 
and  sedative.  It  is  made  from  a  rare  flower  found 
only  in  the  most  inaccessible  fastnesses  of  the  Andes, 
and  is  believed  by  the  natives  to  be  a  charm  against 
death.  At  some  time  I  shall  be  glad  to  show  you  a 
treatise  on  the  plant  written  by  an  eminent  Spanish 
botanist.  Its  effect  upon  me  is  instantaneous  and 
yet  it  might  serve  you  quite  differently,  as  our  sen 
sitiveness  to  these  reactions  of  the  olfactory  nerve 
are  largely  idiosyncratic.  Let  me  tap  your  upper 
lip  with  the  cork  —  ah  !" 

There  was  nothing  more  repulsive  to  Archie  than 
perfumes  and  he  impatiently  jerked  his  head  away. 
The  odor  proved,  however,  to  be  exceedingly  deli 
cate  and  not  the  miserable  chemical  concoction  he 
dreaded.  But  he  was  not  to  be  thwarted  in  his  pur 
pose  to  learn  just  what  the  Governor  meant  by  en 
dangering  their  security  so  recklessly.  He  slammed 
the  transom  tight  and  drew  down  the  shades. 

"Well?"  he  demanded  sharply. 

"It  is  evident,"  remarked  the  Governor  good- 
humoredly,  "that  you  do  not  react  to  the  soothing 
influences  of  the  rosa  aha.  You  seem  perturbed, 
anxious,  with  slight  symptoms  of  paralysis  agitans. 
Pray  be  seated  and  I  will  do  my  best  to  restore  your 
peace  of  mind." 


BLACKSHEEP !  BLACKSHEEP !       93 

o"You  needlessly  exposed  yourself  to  observation 
by  sneaking  down  the  fire  escape  of  this  hotel  —  I 
know  that !" 

"  My  dear  boy,  I  was  merely  gathering  a  few  blos 
soms  of  the  crimson  rambler  from  the  ancient  walls 
of  the  inn.  You  may  have  noted  that  I  wore  a  spray 
of  buds  in  my  lapel  when  I  joined  you  in  the  ball 


room." 


"You  had  no  right  to  plunder  the  house  without 
warning  me !  I  don't  relish  the  idea  of  being  jailed 
for  your  foolishness.  And  those  people  were  mighty 
decent  to  us  !  If  they  knew  we  were  two  crooks  — ! " 

"They  merely  yielded  to  our  charms !  They  feel 
themselves  honored  by  our  acquaintance !  Now 
seat  yourself  on  the  bed  and  I'll  tell  you  the  whole 
story.  When  I  left  you  I  hastened  into  the  village, 
bought  a  stick  of  shaving  soap  in  a  drug  store  and  a 
few  cigars  in  a  tobacconist's.  In  each  place  I  con 
versed  with  the  clerk,  thus  laying  ample  ground  for 
an  alibi.  Hurrying  back  to  the  inn  I  avoided  ob 
servation  by  entering  by  the  side  door,  skipped  up 
to  our  rooms  —  and  there  you  are !  I  did  run  a 
chance,  of  course,  in  climbing  down  the  ladder,  but 
all's  well  that  ends  well.  I  exchanged  our  new  bank 
notes  for  sixty  well-worn  one-thousand-dollar  gold 
certificates  negotiable  in  all  parts  of  the  republic. 
That  means  a  net  gain  in  the  Red  Leary  trust  fund 
of  ten  thousand  dollars.  Seebrook  had  the  stuff 
in  the  collar  tray  of  his  trunk.  As  the  trunk  was 
otherwise  empty  and  the  lock  a  special  one  that 
gave  me  a  bit  of  trouble  he's  not  likely  to'bother  with 
it  until  old  man  Congdon  turns  up  to  close  the  stock 
transaction.  When  he  opens  it  he  will  find  fifty 
thousand  dollars  of  good  bills  neatly  piled  there  and 


94       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

if  he  has  the  imagination  of  a  canary  he  will  think 
the  fairies  have  played  a  trick  on  him  !" 

"My  God  I"  moaned  Archie.  "You  don't  think 
you  can  get  away  with  this !" 

"I  think,"  returned  the  Governor  imperturbably, 
"that  we  must  and  will  get  away  with  it."  His  em 
phasis  on  the  plural  pronoun  caused  Archie  to  cringe. 
"It  strikes  me  as  highly  amusing  that  we  have  un 
loaded  those  bills  of  Leary's  on  a  good  sport  like 
Seebrook.  As  I  locked  that  stuff  in  his  trunk  I  got 
to  laughing  —  really,  I  did  —  and  a  chambermaid 
roaming  the  hall  must  have  heard  me,  for  the  key 
rattled  in  the  lock  just  as  I  slipped  out  of  the  window. 
There's  Leary's  suit-case  and  I've  packed  it  with 
our  soiled  linen  and  stuck  in  a  pair  of  shoes  for  weight. 
Seebrook's  legal  tender  is  neatly  rolled  up  in  my  best 
silken  hose  in  my  kit  bag.  Hark  !  There's  Seebrook 
tumbling  into  his  bed,  which  is  just  beneath  mine!" 

"You're  getting  me  in  pretty  deep,"  mumbled 
Archie  dejectedly. 

"How  about  those  blood  stains  on  the  sidewalk 
at  Bailey  Harbor  ?"  asked  the  Governor  in  his  bland 
est  tones.  "When  you  speak  of  getting  in  deep 
you  forget  that  some  one  besides  Hoky  was  shot  back 
yonder.  You  came  to  me  red-handed  froiri  a  deed 
of  violence,  and  I  took  you  in  and  became  your  pro 
tector,  asking  no  questions.  It's  the  basest  ingrati 
tude  for  you  to  whimper  over  a  small  larceny  when 
you  have  added  assault  or  murder  to  the  liabilities  of 
our  partnership  !  But  don't  forget  for  a  moment 
that  we're  pals  and  pledged  to  see  each  other 
through." 

The  reference  to  the  blood  stains  reported  by  the 
Bailey  Harbor  police  threw  Archie  back  instantly 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  95 

upon  the  Governor's  mercy.  Complicity  in  the 
robbery  of  Seebrook  was  as  nothing  compared  with 
the  haunting  fear  that  the  man  he  had  shot  in  the 
Congdon  house  had  died  from  the  wound.  Unable 
to  determine  this  question  he  was  floundering  in  a 
veritable  sea  of  crimes.  The  Governor  was  un 
dressing  with  provoking  indifference  to  his  com 
panion's  perturbation. 

"Sleep,  lad,  sleep  !  You  may  be  sure  that  nothing 
will  harm  us  tonight,  and  I  have  faith  that  more 
stirring  adventures  are  ahead  of  us.  I  forgive  you 
your  qualms  and  quavers,  the  pardonable  manifes 
tations  of  youth  and  inexperience.  We  walk  in  slip 
pery  places  but  we  shall  not  stumble,  at  least  not 
while  the  Governor  keeps  his  head!" 

Nothing  appealed  to  Archie  as  of  greater  impor 
tance  than  the  retention  by  his  companion  of  the 
head  that  now  lay  chastely  upon  a  snowy  pillow. 
A  handsome,  well-formed  head,  a  head  suggestive  of 
family  and  the  pride  of  race,  though  rilled  with  the 
most  complicated  mental  machinery  with  which  a 
human  being  had  ever  been  endowed. 

"Put  out  the  lights  and  get  you  to  your  couch  !" 
the  Governor  muttered  drowsily. 

The  man  certainly  wore  his  crimes  lightly.  He 
was  sound  asleep  before  Archie  had  got  into  his 
pajamas. 

VI 

When  they  reached  the  dining-room  at  ten  the 
next  morning  they  found  Seebrook  and  Walters  just 
finishing  breakfast.  Miss  Seebrook  was  having  cof 
fee  in  her  room,  her  father  explained  in  response  to 
Archie's  polite  inquiries. 


96  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"We're  hoping  to  get  away  this  afternoon,"  he 
continued.  "It  will  take  only  a  few  minutes  to 
transact  our  business  when  the  man  I'm  waiting  for 
appears ;  but  he's  an  uncertain  quantity,  and  there's 
no  telling  when  he'll  show  up.  But  we're  having  a 
good  time  and  I  shan't  mind  another  day  or  two.  If 
only  you  gentlemen  would  bear  us  company!" 

"Ah,  you  are  very  kind!"  said  the  Governor; 
"but  we  must  resume  our  ramble  toward  the  Pacific. 
We  are  more  or  less  dated  up  for  little  entertainments 
on  the  way." 

"I  certainly  envy  you,"  said  Walters  ruefully. 
"Seebrook  and  I  belong  to  the  large  class  of  men  who 
work  for  a  living." 

"Well,  Comly  and  I  have  our  own  small  jobs," 
the  Governor  protested.  "We're  interested  in  some 
water  power  schemes  through  the  West  and  hope  to 
make  our  expenses." 

Seebrook  and  Walters  lingered  in  the  office  as 
Archie  and  the  Governor  paid  their  account.  As 
they  waited  for  their  car  to  be  sent  round  from 
the  garage  a  machine  drew  up  and  discharged  a 
short,  wiry,  elderly  man  in  a  motor  coat  that  was' 
much  too  large  for  him.  He  was  accompanied  by 
an  enormous  amount  of  luggage  and  from  the  steps 
of  the  inn  gave  orders  in  a  high  piping  voice  as  to 
the  manner  of  its  disposal.  As  the  various  pieces 
were  hustled  into  the  office  he  enumerated  them  in 
an  audible  tone  as  though  inviting  the  cooperation 
of  all  the  loungers  in  making  an  inventory  of  his 
effects.  When  this  had  been  concluded  Seebrook 
stepped  up  and  accosted  the  newcomer. 

"Mr.  Congdon,  I  am  very  glad  to  see  you.  I 
hope  you  are  not  worn  out  by  your  drive." 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       97 

"Worn  out!"  snapped  the  little  man.  "Do  you 
imagine  a  run  of  a  hundred  miles  would  fatigue  a 
man  of  my  constitution  ?  I  assure  you  that  you 
are  greatly  mistaken  if  you  think  I  am  feeling  my 
age.  Seventy !  And  I  don't  feel  a  day  over  fifty, 
not  a  day,  sir.  But  I  shall  rest  for  a  few  hours  as 
a  precaution,  a  mere  precautionary  measure  and  be 
able  to  meet  you  for  our  little  business  at  two-thirty 
sharp." 

"That  will  suit  me  perfectly,"  replied  Seebrook. 

Archie  hung  about  impatiently  waiting  for  the 
Governor  to  make  his  farewells  to  the  old  lady  and 
her  granddaughters  on  whom  he  had  expended  his 
social  talents  at  the  dance.  Mr.  Congdon  was  quar 
reling  with  the  clerk  over  the  location  of  the  room 
he  had  reserved ;  he  wanted  no  room  with  a  western 
exposure  as  such  rooms  were  always  so  baked  by  the 
afternoon  sun  that  they  were  as  hot  as  tropical  jungles 
at  night.  Having  frightened  the  clerk  into  readjust 
ing  the  entire  registration  to  accommodate  him,  he 
demanded  to  know  whether  his  son,  Mr.  Putney 
Congdon,  was  stopping  in  the  house. 

"Mind  you,  I  have  no  reason  to  believe  he  is  here, 
but  I've  been  asking  for  him  everywhere  along  the 
road." 

Assured  that  Mr.  Putney  Congdon  was  not  in  the 
inn  and  hadn't  been  there  within  the  recollection  of 
the  office  staff,  the  senior  Congdon  exploded  vio 
lently  upon  Seebrook  and  Walters. 

"Things  have  come  to  a  pretty  pass  in  this  topsy 
turvy  world  when  a  man  can't  find  his  own  son ! 
For  three  days  I've  been  wiring  his  clubs  and  all 
other  places  he  could  possibly  be  without  result. 
And  I  have  learned  that  his  wife  has  left  Bailey  Har- 


98  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

bor  and  the  house  there  is  closed.  Closed  !  How 
dare  they  close  that  house  when  I  was  about  to  pay 
them  a  visit  ?  I  spent  thirty-five  dollars  last  night 
in  telephoning  trying  to  find  out  what's  become  of 
my  son  and  his  family  and  I  got  nothing  for  my 
money  —  nothing !" 

Seebrook  and  Walters  expressed  their  sympathy 
in  mild  tones  that  roused  the  old  gentleman  to  greater 
fury. 

"Can  a  whole  family  be  obliterated  and  no  trace 
left  behind  ?  Is  it  possible  that  they've  been  mur 
dered  in  their  beds,  servants  and  all,  and  the  police 
not  yet  aware  of  it  ?" 

At  the  mention  of  murder  Archie  began  stealthily 
feeling  his  way  along  the  cigar  counter  to  a  water 
cooler.  He  drank  two  glasses  of  ice  water  while  he 
listened  to  Eliphalet's  grievances  against  all  things 
visible  and  invisible.  There  seemed  to  be  no  escap 
ing  from  the  Congdons  and  here  was  the  father  of 
Putney  boldly  publishing  to  the  whole  state  of  New 
Hampshire  his  fear  that  his  son  had  been  murdered. 

"I  called  up  everybody  I  could  think  of  at  Bailey 
Harbor,  that  dismal  rotten  hole,  and  got  nothing 
for  my  trouble.  Nothing!  A  fool  druggist,  who 
pretended  to  know  everything  about  the  place,  had 
the  effrontery  to  tell  me 'Putney  hadn't  been  there 
for  a  week  and  declared  that  his  family  had  left ! 
Why  should  they  leave  ?  I  ask  you  to  tell  me  why 
my  daughter-in-law  should  leave  a  comfortable  house 
at  the  shore  at  this  season  and  tell  nobody  her  des 
tination  ?" 

As  no  member  of  his  growing  audience  of  guests, 
clerks  and  bell-hops  could  answer  his  questions,  Mr. 
Congdon  swept  the  whole  company  with  a  fierce,  dis- 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!       99 

dainful  glare  and  began  mobilizing  the  entire  day 
watch  of  porters  and  bell-boys  to  convey  his  luggage 
to  his  room.  One  of  the  young  gentlemen  was  en 
gaged  at  the  moment  in  winking  at  the  girl  attendant 
at  the  cigar  counter  when  the  agitated  traveler  thrust 
the  point  of  an  enormous  umbrella  into  his  ribs  with 
a  vigor  that  elicited  a  yell  of  surprise  and  pain. 

The  concentration  of  the  hotel  staff  upon  the 
transfer  of  Mr.  Congdon's  luggage  to  his  room  left 
the  Governor  and  Archie  to  manage  the  removal  of 
their  own  effects  to  the  waiting  car.  Seebrook  and 
Walters  obligingly  assisted,  laughing  at  Congdon's 
eccentricities. 

"The  arrival  of  that  enchanting  old  crank  in 
creases  my  grief  at  leaving,"  declared  the  Governor. 
"A  delightful  person.  The  son  he  mentioned  with 
so  much  feeling  was  in  Boston  looking  for  him 
a  month  ago." 

Seebrook  seized  the  Governor's  kit  bag  containing 
the  sixty  thousand  dollars  and  carried  it  out  to  the 
car.  The  sight  of  it  in  Seebrook's  hand  gave  Archie 
sensations  of  nausea  that  were  not  relieved  by  the 
grin  he  detected  on  the  Governor's  face.  Within 
an  hour  or  two  at  most  the  substitution  and  robbery 
would  be  discovered  and  the  country  would  ring  with 
the  demand  for  their  detention.  But  the  Governor 
was  carrying  off  the  departure  with  his  usual  gaiety. 
It  was  clear  that  he  had  made  the  most  favorable 
impression  upon  Seebrook  and  Walters ;  and  in  the 
cordial  handshaking  and  expressions  of  hope  for 
future  meetings  Archie  joined  with  the  best  spirit 
he  could  muster.  A  cheery  good-by  caused  him 
to  look  up.  Miss  Seebrook  with  a  red  rose  in  her 
hand  waved  to  him  from  her  window. 


100  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

As  he  lifted  his  cap  she  dropped  the  rose  with  a 
graceful  sweep  of  the  arm. 

"Like  the  old  stage  coach  days  !"  cried  the  Gover 
nor,  applauding  Archie's  catch. 

He  jumped  into  the  machine  and  Archie  scrambled 
after  him.  Archie's  last  impression  of  the  inn  was 
the  blur  of  a  waving  handkerchief  in  Miss  Seebrook's 
window. 

"We  are  a  success,  my  boy!  You  bore  yourself 
marvelously  well,"  said  the  Governor  testing  the 
gears.  "As  I  remember  we  pass  town  hall  on  right 
and  cross  railroad  at  bridge;  then  follow  telephone 
poles.  We  don't  need  the  guide  book ;  it's  all  in 
my  head.  Ah,  that  little  touch  of  the  rose  was  worth 
all  our  perils ;  nothing  in  my  experience  was  ever 
prettier  than  that !  A  lovely  girl ;  you  might  do 
worse  if  you  were  not  already  plighted.  If  she  had 
come  down  to  say  good-by  it  would  have  been  much 
less  significant.  But  the  rose,  the  red,  red  rose ! 
It  wouldn't  be  a  bad  idea  to  stick  it  in  an  envelope 
and  mail  it  to  the  girl  you  were  telling  me  about  — 
the  one  who  sent  you  forth  to  shatter  kingdoms. 
I  guess  that  would  jostle  her  a  little,  particularly  if 
you  were  to  enclose  a  line  telling  her  that  it  had  fallen 
to  your  hand  from  a  curtained  lattice." 

"I  don't  know  her  address,"  mumbled  Archie, 
fastening  the  flower  in  his  buttonhole. 

He  still  martyrized  himself  in  his  thoughts  of  Isa 
bel.  Her  contumelious  treatment  of  him  at  Ports 
mouth  rankled ;  but  he  had  satisfied  himself  that 
it  was  all  his  fault.  In  some  way  the  curse  of  the 
Congdons  lay  upon  her  as  upon  him.  If  he  had  not 
burst  upon  her  so  idiotically  she  would  probably 
have  listened  to  his  story  with  some  interest  if  not 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEF!      ;oi 

with  admiration.  He  meant  to  be  very  loyal  u> 
Isabel  in  spite  of  the  disheartening  contretemps  at 
Portsmouth  and  he  drew  the  rose  from  his  coat  and 
cast  it  from  him. 

"So  soon!"  exclaimed  the  Governor.  "I  rejoice 
in  your  fidelity.  Hope  rides  a  high  horse  and  I'm 
confident  that  in  due  season  we  shall  find  our  two 
adorable  ones.  But  it  will  do  you  no  harm  to  in 
dulge  in  a  little  affair  now  and  then  on  the  way; 
merely  practice  at  the  approach  shot,  you  know,  to 
keep  your  hand  in.  You  are  undoubtedly  thinking 
of  your  beloved  with  a  new  tenderness  because  you 
found  Miss  Seebrook  kind.  Such,  lad,  is  the  way  of 
love,  true  love,  the  love  that  never  dies." 

Love  as  a  subject  for  discussion  seemed  wholly 
incongruous  in  view  of  the  fact  that  they  were  run 
ning  off  with  Seebrook's  money  and  pursuers  might 
already  be  hot  on  their  trail.  He  suggested  the 
dangers  of  their  situation,  thinking  that  here  at  last 
was  something  that  would  sober  the  Governor.  But 
the  Governor  merely  laughed  as  he  swung  the  car 
round  a  sharp  corner. 

"Don't  you  believe  that  I  hadn't  a  care  for  our 
safe  flight !  You  must  learn  to  use  your  eyes,  son. 
There  was  one  of  the  brotherhood  of  the  road  right 
there  in  the  office  when  we  left.  I  gave  him  instruc 
tions  last  night.  He's  a  sneak  thief  of  considerable 
intelligence  who  gave  me  the  sign  as  I  was  pretend 
ing  to  leave  for  that  call  on  my  old  friend.  I  smuggled 
him  upstairs  to  keep  watch  for  me  and  he  proved 
himself  a  fellow  of  decided  merit.  He'll  be  hanging 
round  Cornford  today  and  as  the  absurd  police  will 
be  obliged  to  make  an  arrest  to  save  their  reputations 
he  will  put  himself  in  their  way  and  encourage  the 


103      £LACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

idea  by  subtle  means  that  he  might  have  been  the 
malefactor  who  robbed  Seebrook's  trunk  and  left 
Leary's  bills  behind.  They  will  be  unable  to  make 
a  case  against  him  but  he'll  probably  get  thirty 
days  for  loitering.  Then  he'll  walk  out  and  draw  a 
thousand  dollars  from  one  of  our  little  private  banks 
further  along  the  road  for  so  chivalrously  throwing 
himself  into  the  breach  !  There  are  wheels  within 
wheels  in  our  game,  and  these  fellows  who  make 
sacrifice  hits  are  highly  useful.  They  also  serve 
who  only  go»to  jail,  as  John  Milton  almost  said. 
Even  the  police  recognize  the  sacrificial  artists ;  and 
encourage  them  —  on  the  quiet,  of  course.  It  calms 
public  complaint  of  their  inefficiency.  I  can  find 
you  men  who  will  do  a  year's  time  to  save  the  men 
higher  up.  This  satisfies  the  public  as  to  the  zeal 
of  its  paid  protectors  and  makes  it  possible  for  men 
of  genius  like  you  and  me  to  walk  in  high  places  un 
molested.  A  damnable  system,  Archie,  but  we 
learned  it  from  the  greedy  trust  magnates.  You 
take  the  wheel ;  it  just  occurs  to  me  that  you  said 
you  were  a  fair  driver." 

Archie  had  always  imagined  that  men  slip  grad 
ually  from  the  straight  and  narrow  path,  but  he  felt 
himself  plunging  down  a  steep  toboggan  with  all  the 
delirious  joy  of  a  speed  maniac. 

Of  one  thing  he  was  confident :  if  he  ever  returned 
to  his  old  orderly,  lawful  life,  he  would  be  much  more 
tolerant  of  sinners  than  he  had  been  in  the  old  tran 
quil  times.  He  had  always  found  it  easy  to  be 
good  but  now  he  was  finding  it  quite  as  easy  to  be 
naughty,  very  naughty  indeed.  His  speculations  as 
to  just  how  long  he  could  be  imprisoned  for  his  crimes 
and  misdemeanors  to  date  resolved  themselves  into  a 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  103 

question  with  which  he  interrupted  the  Governor  in 
a  sonorous  recitation  of  Tennyson's  Ode  on  the  Death 
of  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 

"If  you  shoot  a  man  but  don't  kill  him,  and  pile 
on  top  of  that  receiving  stolen  goods  and  complicity 
in  burglary,  how  much  can  they  hand  you?" 

The  Governor  answered  with  disconcerting  prompt 
ness. 

"Shooting  with  intent  to  commit  murder  —  they 
always  put  it  that  way  whether  you  meant  the  shot 
as  anything  more  than  a  little  pleasantry  or  really 
had  murder  in  your  heart  —  that  would  be  a  mini 
mum  of  ten  years  in  many  of  the  American  states 
and  a  hard-hearted  judge  might  soak  you  for  twenty. 
Then  pile  on  that  from  one  to  five  years  for  hiding 
stolen  property;  and  then  a  first-class  burglary, 
might  run  you  pretty  high,  particularly  if  they  landed 
you  on  all  three  charges  and  showed  that  you  were 
viciously  hostile  to  the  forces  of  society.  But  there's 
no  cause  for  worry.  If  you  behaved  yourself  they'd 
knock  off  a  generous  allowance  and  a  fellow  of  your 
enlightenment  and  tact  might  be  put  to  work  in 
the  warden's  office,  or  set  to  collecting  potato  bugs 
in  the  prison  garden  patch.  But  it's  highly  unpro 
fessional  to  bother  about  such  trifles.  We  haven't 
been  nabbed  yet,  and  if  you  and  I  are  not  smart 
enough  to  keep  out  of  trouble  we  ought  to  be  locked 
up;  that's  my  philosophy  of  the  situation.  You 
must  conquer  that  morbid  strain  in  you  that  persists 
in  looking  for  trouble.  I  find  it  highly  depressing." 

He  sang  a  bar  of  "Ben  Bolt"  to  test  his  memory 
of  the  words  and  then  urged  Archie  to  join  him  in 
the  ballad,  which  he  said  was  endeared  to  him  by  the 
most  sacred  associations.  Archie  hadn't  indulged 


104      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

in  song  since  he  sang  "Fair  Harvard"  at  his  last 
class  reunion,  but  the  Governor  praised  his  singing 
and  carried  him  through  "Robin  Grey"  and  a  few 
other  classics  with  growing  animation. 

"You  respond  to  treatment  splendidly!  The  sun 
and  air  are  bringing  a  fine  color  to  your  face  until 
you  don't  even  remotely  suggest  a  doleful  jail  bird. 
We'll  soon  be  able  to  stroll  along  Fifth  Avenue  and 
pass  for  members  of  the  leisure  class  who  live  on  the 
golf  links.  You  need  hardening  up  and  if  you  stick 
to  me  you'll  lay  up  a  store  of  health  that  will  last 
you  forty  years." 

The  Governor  was  amazingly  muscular,  and  his 
shapely  hands  seemed  possessed  of  miraculous 
strength.  When  a  tire  went  bad  he  changed  it  with 
remarkable  ease  and  dexterity,  scorning  Archie's  offer 
of  assistance. 

"No  lost  motion  !  The  world  spends  half  its  time 
doing  things  twice  that  could  as  well  be  done  once. 
I  am  blessed  with  an  orderly  mind,  Archie.  You 
will  have  noticed  that  virtue  in  me  by  the  time  the 
frost  is  on  the  punkin  and  the  fodder's  in  the 
shock,  to  quote  the  Hoosier  Theocritus." 

And  so,  to  the  merry  accompaniment  of  old  tunes 
and  mellow  rhymes,  they  crossed  the  Connecticut. 


CHAPTER  THREE 
I 

WITH  all  his  outward  candor  the  Governor  had, 
Archie  found,  reserves  that  were  quite  unaccount 
able.  He  let  fall  allusions  to  his  past  in  the  most 
natural  fashion,  with  an  incidental  air  that  added 
to  their  plausibility,  without  ever  tearing  aside  the 
veil  that  concealed  his  origin  or  the  manner  of  his 
fall,  if,  indeed,  a  man  who  so  jubilantly  boasted  of 
his  crimes  and  seemed  to  find  an  infinite  satis 
faction  and  delight  in  his  turpitude,  could  be  said 
to  have  fallen.  Having  mentioned  Brattleboro  as 
the  point  at  which  they  were  to  foregather  with 
Red  Leary,  the  Governor  did  not  refer  to  the  matter 
again,  but  chose  routes  and  made  detours  without 
explanation. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  they  swung  round  Brattleboro 
and  saw  only  the  faint  blue  of  its  smoke  from  the 
western  side.  It  was  on  the  second  afternoon  out 
of  Cornford  that  the  Governor  suddenly  bade 
Archie,  whom  he  encouraged  to  drive  much  of  the 
time,  pause  at  a  gate. 

"We  linger  here,  son.  May  I  suggest  that  you 
take  your  cue  from  me  ?  Bill  Walker  is  an  honest 
dairyman  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  but  really  an 
old  crook  who  got  tired  of  dodging  sheriffs  and 
bloodhounds  and  bought  this  farm.  A  sober,  in 
dustrious  family  man,  you  will  find  him,  with  a 

105 


106  BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP ! 

wife  and  one  daughter.  This  is  one  of  the  best 
stations  of  the  underground  railroad;  safe  as  a 
mother's  arms,  and  you  will  never  believe  you're 
not  the  favored  guest  of  a  week-end  party.  Walker's 
an  old  chum  of  Leary's.  They  used  to  cut  up  in 
the  most  reprehensible  fashion  out  West  in  old 
times.  You've  probably  wondered  what  becomes 
of  old  crooks.  Walker  is  of  course  an  unusual 
specimen,  for  he  knew  when  the  quitting  was  good, 
and  having  salted  away  a  nice  little  fortune  accumu 
lated  in  express  hold-ups,  he  dwells  here  in  peace 
and  passes  the  hat  at  the  meeting  house  every 
Sunday.  You  may  be  dead  sure  that  only  the 
aristocracy  of  our  profession  have  the  entree  at 
Walker's.  His  herd  on  the  hillside  yonder  makes  a 
pretty  picture  of  tranquillity.  The  house  is  an  old 
timer,  but  he's  made  a  comfortable  place  of  it,  and 
the  wife  and  daughter  set  a  wonderful  table.  Here's 
the  old  boy  now." 

A  gray-bearded  man  with  a  pronounced  stoop, 
clad  in  faded  blue  overalls,  was  waiting  for  them 
at  the  barn. 

"Just  run  the  machine  right  in,"  he  called. 

The  car  disposed  of,  the  Governor  introduced 
Archie  as  one  of  his  dearest  friends,  and  the  hand 
Archie  clasped  was  undeniably  roughened  by  toil. 
Walker  mumbled  a  "glad-to-see-ye,"  and  lazily 
looked  him  over. 

"Always  glad  to  meet  any  friend  of  Mr.  Sauls- 
bury's,"  he  drawled  with  a  mournful  twang.  "  We've 
got  plenty  o'  bread  and  milk  for  strangers.  Some 
body's  spread  the  idea  we  run  a  hotel  here  and  we're 
pestered  a  good  deal  with  folks  that  want  to  stop  for 
a  meal.  We  take  care  o'  'em  mostly.  The  wife 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      107 

and  little  gal  sort  o'  like  havin'  folks  stop;  takes 
away  the  lonesomeness." 

There  was  nothing  in  his  speech  or  manner  to 
suggest  that  he  had  ever  been  a  road  agent.  He 
assisted  them  in  carrying  their  traps  to  the  house, 
talking  farmer  fashion  of  the  weather,  crops  and 
the  state  of  the  roads.  The  house  was  connected 
with  the  barn  in  the  usual  New  England  style.  In 
the  kitchen  a  girl  sang  cheerily  and  hearing  her  the 
Governor  paused  and  struck  an  attitude. 

"O  divinity!  O  Deity  of  the  Green  Hills!  O 
Lovely  Daughter  of  the  Stars  !  0  Iphigenia  !" 

The  girl  appeared  at  a  window,  rested  her  bare 
arms  on  the  sill  and  smilingly  saluted  them  with  a 
cheery  "Hello  there!" 

"Look  upon  that  picture!"  exclaimed  the  Gov 
ernor,  seizing  Archie's  arm.  "In  old  times  upon 
Olympus  she  was  cup-bearer  to  the  gods,  but  here 
she  is  Sally  Walker,  and  never  so  charming  as  when 
she  sits  enthroned  upon  the  milking  stool.  Miss 
Walker,  my  old  friend,  Mr.  Comly,  or  Achilles,  as 
you  will !" 

A  very  pretty  picture  Miss  Walker  made  in  the 
kitchen  window,  a  vivid  portrait  that  immediately 
enhanced  Archie's  pleasurable  sensations  in  finding 
a  haven  that  promised  rest  and  security.  Her  black 
hair  was  swept  back  smoothly  from  her  forehead 
and  there  was  the  glow  of  perfect  health  in  her 
rounded  cheeks.  Archie  noted  her  dimples  and  the 
white  even  teeth  that  made  something  noteworthy 
and  memorable  of  her  smile. 

"Well,  Mr.  Saulsbury,  I've  read  all  those  books 
you  sent  me,  and  the  candy  was  the  finest  I  ever 
tasted." 


io8  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"She  remembers!  Amid  all  her  domestic  cares, 
she  remembers !  My  dear  lad,  the  girl  is  one  in  a 
million!" 

"You'd  think  Mr.  Saulsbury  was  crazy  about 
me!"  she  laughed.  "But  he  makes  the  same 
speeches  to  every  girl  he  sees,  doesn't  he,  Mr. 
Comly?" 

"Indeed  not,"  protested  Archie,  rallying  bravely 
to  the  Governor's  support.  "He's  been  raving 
about  you  for  days  and  my  only  surprise  is  that 
he  so  completely  failed  to  give  me  the  faintest  idea 
—  idea—" 

"Of  your  charm,  your  ineffable  beauty!"  the 
Governor  supplied.  "You  see,  Sally,  my  friend  is 
shy  with  the  shyness  of  youth  and  inexperience  and 
he  is  unable  to  utter  the  thoughts  that  do  in  him 
rise  !  I  can  see  that  he  is  your  captive,  your  meek 
est  slave.  By  the  way,  will  there  be  cottage  cheese 
prepared  by  your  own  adorable  hand  for  supper  ? 
Are  golden  waffles  likely  to  confront  us  on  the  break 
fast  table  tomorrow  at  the  hideous  hour  of  five- 
thirty  ?  Will  there  be  maple  syrup  from  yonder 
hillside  grove  ?" 

"You  have  said  it!"  Sally  answered.  "But 
you'd  better  chase  yourselves  into  the  house  now 
or  pop'll  be  peeved  at  having  to  wait  for  you." 

On  the  veranda  a  tall  elderly  man  rose  from  a 
hammock  in  which  he  had  been  reading  a  news 
paper  and  stretched  himself.  His  tanned  face  was 
deeply  lined  but  he  gaVe  the  impression  of  health 
and  vigor. 

"Leary,"  whispered  the  Governor  in  an  aside  and 
immediately  introduced  him. 

"The  road  has  been  smooth  and  the  sky  is  high," 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      109 

said  the^Governor  in  response  to  a  quick  anxious 
questioning  of  Leary's  small  restless  eyes. 

"Did  you  find  peace  in  the  churches  by  the  way  ?" 
asked  Leary. 

"In  one  of  the  temples  we  found  peace  and 
plenty,"  answered  the  Governor  as  though  reciting 
from  a  ritual. 

Leary  nodded  and  gave  a  hitch  to  his  trousers.      ! 

"You  found  the  waters  of  Champlain  tranquil, 
and  no  hawks  followed  the  landward  passage?" 

"The  robin  and  the  bluebird  sang  over  all  the 
road,"  he  answered ;  then  with  a  glance  at  Archie : 
"You  gave  no  warning  of  the  second  pilgrim." 

"The  brother  is  young  and  innocent,  but  I  find 
him  an  apt  pupil,"  the  Governor  explained. 

"The  brother  will  learn  first  the  wisdom  of  silence," 
remarked  Leary,  and  then  as  though  by  an  after 
thought  he  shook  Archie  warmly  by  the  hand. 

They  went  into  the  house  where  Mrs.  Walker,  a 
stout  middle-aged  woman,  greeted  them  effusively. 

"We've  got  to  put  you  both  in  one  room,  if  you 
don't  mind,"  she  explained,  "but  there's  two  beds 
in  it.  I  guess  you  can  make  out." 

"Make  out!"  cried  the  Governor  with  a  depreca 
tory  wave  of  his  hand.  "We  should  be  proud  to  be 
permitted  to  sleep  on  the  porch  !  You  do  us  much 
honor,  my  dear  Mrs.  Walker." 

"Oh,  you  always  cheer  us  up,  Mr.  Saulsbury. 
And  Mr.  Comly  is  just  as  welcome." 

The  second  floor  room  to  which  Walker  led  them 
was  plainly  but  neatly  furnished  and  the  windows 
looked  out  upon  rolling  pastures.  The  Governor 
abandoned  his  high-flown  talk  and  asked  blunt 
questions  as  to  recent  visitors,  apparently  referring 


no      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

to  criminals  who  had  lodged  at  the  farm.  They 
talked  quite  openly  while  Archie  unpacked  his  bag. 
The  restless  activity  of  the  folk  of  the  underworld, 
their  methods  of  communication  and  points  of 
rendezvous  seemed  part  of  a  vast  system  and  he 
was  ashamed  of  his  enormous  interest  in  all  he  saw 
and  heard.  The  Governor's  cool  fashion  of  talking 
of  the  world  of  crime  and  its  denizens  almost  legiti 
matized  it,  made  it  appear  a  recognized  part  of  the 
accepted  scheme  of  things.  Walker  aroused  the 
Governor's  deepest  interest  by  telling  of  the  visit 
of  Pete  Barney,  a  diamond  thief,  who  had  lately 
made  a  big  haul  in  Chicago,  and  had  been  passed 
along  from  one  point  of  refuge  to  another.  The 
Governor  asked  particularly  as  to  the  man's  ex 
periences  and  treatment  on  the  road,  and  whether 
he  had  complained  of  the  hospitality  extended  by 
any  of  the  agents  of  the  underground. 

"You  needn't  worry  about  him,"  said  Walker, 
with  a  shrug.  "He  asks  for  what  he  wants." 

"Sorry  if  he  made  himself  a  nuisance.  I'll  give 
warning  to  chain  the  gates  toward  the  North.  Is 
he  carrying  the  sparks  with  him  ?" 

"Lets  'em  shine  like  a  fool.  I  told  'im  to  clear 
out  with  'em." 

"You  did  right.  The  brothers  in  the  West 
must  be  more  careful  about  handing  out  tickets. 
Now  trot  Red  up  here  and  we'll  transact  a  little 
business." 

Leary  appeared  a  moment  later  and  Archie  was 
about  to  leave  the  room,  but  the  Governor  insisted 
stoutly  that  he  remain. 

"I'm  anxious  for  you  and  Red  to  know  that  I 
trust  both  of  you  fully." 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  Ill 

"What's  the  young  brother,  —  a  con?"  asked 
Leary  with  a  glance  at  Archie. 

To  be  referred  to  as  a  confidence  man  by  a  gentle 
man  of  Leary's  professional  eminence  gave  Archie 
a  thrill.  The  Governor  answered  by  drawing  up 
his  sleeves  and  going  through  the  motions  of  wash 
ing  his  hands. 

"Does  the  hawk  follow  fast?"  Leary  asked,  as 
he  proceeded  to  fill  his  pipe. 

"The  shadow  hasn't  fallen,  but  we  watch  the 
sky,"  returned  the  Governor. 

The  brushing  of  the  hands  together  Archie  in 
terpreted  as  a  code  sign  signifying  murder  and  the 
subsequent  interchange  of  words  he  took  to  be 
inquiry  and  answer  as  to  the  danger  of  apprehension. 
He  felt  that  Leary's  attitude  toward  him  became 
friendlier  from  that  moment.  There  was  something 
ghastly  in  the  thought  that  as  the  slayer  of  a  human 
being  he  attained  a  certain  dignity  in  the  eyes  of 
men  like  Leary.  But  he  became  interested  in  the 
transaction  that  was  now  taking  place  between 
the  thief  and  the  Governor.  The  Governor  ex 
tracted  the  sixty  one-thousand-dollar  bills  from 
his  bag,  and  laid  them  out  on  the  bed.  He 
rapidly  explained  just  how  Leary's  hidden  booty 
had  been  recovered,  and  the  manner  in  which  the 
smaller  denominations  had  been  converted  into 
bills  that  could  be  passed  without  arousing  suspi 
cion. 

"Too  big  for  one  bite,  but  old  Dan  Sheedy  will 
change  'em  all  for  you  in  Bean  Center.  You  know 
his  place  ?  You  see  him  alone  and  ask  him  to  chop 
some  feed  for  your  cattle.  He  makes  a  good  front 
and  stands  well  at  his  bank." 


112  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

Leary  picked  up  ten  of  the  bills  and  held  them 
out  to  the  Governor. 

"If  that  ain't  right  we'll  make  it  right,"  he  said. 

"Not  a  cent,  Red !  I  haven't  got  to  a  point  yet 
where  I  charge  a  fee  for  my  services.  But  our 
young  brother  here  is  entitled  to  anything  he  wants." 

Archie  grasped  with  difficulty  the  idea  that  he 
was  invited  to  share  in  the  loot.  His  insistence  that 
he  couldn't  think  for  a  moment  of  accepting  any  of 
the  money  puzzled  Leary. 

"It's  all  right  about  you,  Governor,  but  the  kid 
had  better  shake  the  tree.  If  his  hands  are  wet 
he's  likely  to  need  a  towel." 

"Don't  be  an  ass,  Comly,"  said  the  Governor. 
"Leary's  ahead  of  the  game  ten  thousand  good 
plunks  and  what  he  offers  is  a  ridiculously  modest 
honorarium.  Recovering  such  property  and  getting 
it  into  shape  for  the  market  is  worth  something 
handsome." 

"Really,"  began  Archie,  and  then  as  the  "really" 
seemed  an  absurdly  banal  beginning  for  a  rejection 
of  an  offer  of  stolen  money,  he  said  with  a  curl  of  the 
lip  and  a  swagger,  "Oh,  hell !  Fd  feel  pretty  rotten 
to  take  money  from  one  of  the  good  pals.  And  be 
sides,  I  didn't  do  anything  anyhow." 

The  Governor  passed  his  hand  over  his  face  to 
conceal  a  smile,  but  Leary  seemed  sincerely  grieved 
by  Archie's  conduct  and  remarked  dolefully  that 
there  must  be  something  wrong  with  the  money. 
The  Governor  hastily  vouched  for  its  impeccable 
quality  and  excused  Archie  as  a  person  hardly 
second  to  himself  for  eccentricity. 

"No  hard  feeling ;  most  certainly  not !  My  young 
friend  is  only  proud  to  serve  a  man  of  your  standing 


It's  all  right  about  you,  Governor,  but  the  kid  better  shake 
the  tree" 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      113 

in  the  profession.  It  is  possible  that  later  on  you 
may  be  able  to  render  us  a  service.  You  never  can 
tell,  you  know,  Red." 

Leary  philosophically  stowed  the  bills  in  his 
clothing. 

" You're  done,  are  you?"  asked  the  Governor; 
"out  of  the  game?" 

"I  sure  have  quit  the  road,"  Leary  answered. 
"The  old  girl  has  got  a  few  thousands  tucked  away 
and  I'm  goin'  to  pick  her  up  and  buy  a  motion 
picture  joint  or  a  candy  and  soda  shop  somewhere 
in  the  big  lakes  —  one  of  those  places  that  freeze 
up  all  winter,  so  I  can  have  a  chance  to  rest.  The 
old  girl  has  a  place  in  mind.  The  climate  will  be 
good  for  my  asthma.  She  knows  how  to  run  a 
fizz  shop  and  I'll  be  the  scenery  and  just  set  round." 

"On  the  whole  it  doesn't  sound  exciting,"  the 
Governor  commented,  inspecting  a  clean  shirt. 
"Did  your  admirable  wife  get  rid  of  those  pearls 
she  pinched  last  winter  ?  They  were  a  handsome 
string,  as  I  remember,  too  handsome  to  market 
readily.  Mrs.  Leary  has  a  passion  for  precious 
baubles,  Archie,"  the  Governor  explained.  "A 
brilliant  career  in  picking  up  such  trifles ;  a  star 
performer,  Red,  if  you  don't  mind  my  bragging 
of  your  wife." 

Leary  seemed  not  at  all  disturbed  by  this  revela 
tion  of  his  wife's  larcenous  affection  for  pearls. 
That  a  train  robber's  wife  should  be  a  thief  seemed 
perfectly  natural ;  indeed  it  seemed  quite  fitting  that 
thieves  should  mate  with  thieves.  Archie  further 
gathered  that  Mrs.  Leary  operated  in  Chicago, 
under  the  guise  of  a  confectionery  shop,  one  of  the 
stations  of  the  underground  railroad,  and  assisted  the 


114       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

brotherhood  in  disposing  of  their  ill-gotten  wares. 
A  recent  reform  wave  in  Chicago  had  caused  a 
shake-up  in  the  police  department,  most  disturbing 
to  the  preying  powers. 

"They're  clean  off  me,  I  reckon,"  said  Leary  a 
little  pathetically,  the  reference  being  presumably 
to  the  pestiferous  police.  "That  was  a  good  idea 
of  yours  for  me  to  go  up  into  Canada  and  work  at 
a  real  job  for  a  while.  Must  a  worked  hard  enough 
to  change  my  ringer  prints.  Some  bloke  died  in 
Kansas  awhile  back  and  got  all  the  credit  for  being 
the  old  original  Red  Leary." 

This  error  of  the  press  in  recording  Leary's  death 
tickled  the  Governor  mightily,  and  Leary  laughed 
until  he  was  obliged  to  wipe  the  tears  from  his  eyes. 

"I'm  going  to  pull  my  freight  after  supper,"  he 
said.  "Walker's  goin'  to  take  me  into  town  and 
I'll  slip  out  to  Detroit  where  the  old  girl's  waitin' 
for  me." 

The  Governor  mused  upon  this  a  moment,  drew 
a  small  note-book  from  his  pocket  and  verified  his 
recollection  of  the  address  of  one  of  the  outposts  of 
the  underground  which  Leary  mentioned. 

"Avoid  icy  pavements!"  he  admonished. 
"There's  danger  in  all  those  border  towns." 

Walker  called  them  to  supper  and  they  went  down 
to  a  meal  that  met  all  the  expectations  aroused  by 
the  Governor's  boast  of  the  Walker  cuisine.  Not 
only  were  the  fried  chicken  and  hot  biscuits  ex 
cellent,  but  Archie  found  Miss  Walker's  society 
highly  agreeable  and  stimulating.  She  wore  a 
snowy  white  apron  over  a  blue  gingham  dress,  and 
rose  from  time  .to  time  to  replenish  the  platters. 
The  Governor  chaffed  her  familiarly,  and  Archie 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  115 

edged  into  the  talk  with  an  ease  that  surprised  him. 
His  speculative  faculties,  all  but  benumbed  by  the 
violent  exercise  to  which  they  had  been  subjected 
since  he  joined  the  army  of  the  hunted,  found  new 
employment  in  an  attempt  to  determine  just  how 
much  this  cheery,  handsome  girl  knew  of  the  history 
of  the  company  that  met  at  her  father's  table.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  a  retired  crook,  and  it  had  never 
occurred  to  him  that  crooks  had  daughters,  or  if 
they  were  so  blessed  he  had  assumed  that  they  were 
defectives,  turned  over  for  rearing  to  disagreeable 
public  institutions. 

The  Governor  had  said  that  they  were  to  spend  a 
day  or  two  at  Walker's  but  Archie  was  now  hoping 
that  he  would  prolong  the  visit.  When  next  he  saw 
Isabel  he  would  relate,  quite  calmly  and  incidentally, 
his  meteoric  flights  through  the  underworld,  and 
Sally,  the  incomparable  dairy  maid,  should  dance 
merrily  in  his  narrative.  In  a  pleasant  drawing- 
room  somewhere  or  other  he  would  meet  Isabel  and 
rehabilitate  himself  in  her  eyes  by  the  very  modesty 
with  which  he  would  relate  his  amazing  tale.  It 
pleased  him  to  reflect  that  if  she  could  see  him  at  the 
Walker  table  with  Red  Leary  and  the  Governor, 
that  most  accomplished  of  villains,  eating  hot  bis 
cuits  which  had  been  specially  forbidden  by  his 
physician,  she  would  undoubtedly  decide  that  he 
had  made  a  pretty  literal  interpretation  of  her  injunc 
tion  to  throw  a  challenge  in  the  teeth  of  fate. 

Walker  ate  greedily,  shoveling  his  food  into  his 
mouth  with  his  knife;  and  Archie  had  never  before 
sat  at  meat  with  a  man  who  used  this  means  of 
urging  food  into  his  vitals.  The  Governor  mag 
nanimously  ignored  his  friend's  social  errors,  prais- 


Jl6  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

ing  the  chicken  and  delivering  so  beautiful  an 
oration  on  the  home-made  pickled  peaches  that 
Sally  must  needs  dart  into  the  pantry  and  bring 
back  a  fresh  jar  which  she  placed  with  a  spoon  by 
the  Governor's  plate. 

At  the  end  of  the  meal  Walker  left  for  town  to 
put  Leary  on  a  train  for  Boston.  The  veteran  train 
robber  shook  hands  all  round  and  waved  a  last 
farewell  from  the  gate.  Archie  was  sorry  to  lose 
him,  for  Leary  was  an  appealing  old  fellow,  and  he 
had  hoped  for  a  chance  to  coax  from  him  some 
reminiscences  of  his  experiences. 

Leary  vanished  into  the  starlit  dusk  as  placidly 
as  though  he  hadn't  tucked  away  in  his  clothing 
sixty  thousand  dollars  to  which  he  had  no  lawful 
right  or  title.  There  was  something  ludicrous  in 
the  whole  proceeding.  While  Archie  had  an  income 
of  fifty  thousand  dollars  a  year  from  investments, 
he  had  always  experienced  a  pleasurable  thrill  at 
receiving  the  statement  of  his  dividends  from  his 
personal  clerk  in  the  broker's  office,  where  he  drew 
an  additional  ten  thousand  as  a  silent  partner. 
Leary's  method  of  dipping  into  the  world's  capital 
seemed  quite  as  honorable  as  his  own.  Neither 
really  did  any  work  for  the  money.  This  he  reflected 
was  both  morally  and  economically  unsound,  and 
yet  Archie  found  himself  envying  Leary  the  cal 
lousness  that  made  it  possible  for  him  to  pocket 
sixty  thousand  stolen  dollars  without  the  quiver 
of  an  eyelash. 

II 

The  Governor,  smoking  a  pipe  on  the  veranda  and 
chatting  with  Mrs.  Walker,  recalled  him  from  his 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      117 

meditations  to  suggest  that  he  show  a  decent  spirit 
of  appreciation  of  the  Walkers'  hospitality  by  re 
pairing  to  the  kitchen  and  helping  Sally  with  the 
dishes.  In  his  youth  Archie  had  been  carefully 
instructed  in  the  proper  manner  of  entering  a  parlor, 
but  it  was  with  the  greatest  embarrassment  that  he 
sought  Sally  in  her  kitchen.  She  stood  at  the  sink, 
her  arms  plunged  into  a  steaming  dish  pan,  and 
saluted  him  with  a  cheery  hello. 

"I  was  just  wondering  whether  you  wouldn't 
show  up !  Not  that  you  had  to,  but  it's  a  good 
deal  more  fun  having  somebody  to  keep  you  com 
pany  in  the  kitchen." 

"I  should  think  it  would  be,"  Archie  admitted, 
recalling  that  his  mother  used  to  express  the  greatest 
annoyance  when  the  servants  made  her  kitchen  a 
social  center.  "Give  me  a  towel  and  I'll  promise 
not  to  break  anything." 

"You  don't  look  as  though  you'd  been  used  to 
work  much,"  she  said,  "but  take  off  your  coat  and 
I'll  hang  an  apron  on  you." 

His  investiture  in  Mrs.  Walker's  ample  apron 
made  it  necessary  for  Sally  to  stand  quite  close  to 
him,  and  her  manner  of  compressing  her  lips  as  she 
pinned  the  bib  to  the  collar  of  his  waistcoat  he  found 
wholly  charming.  His  heart  went  pit-a-pat  as  her 
ringers,  moist  from  the  suds,  brushed  his  chin. 
She  was  quite  tall;  taller  than  Isabel,  who  had 
fixed  his  standard  of  a  proper  height  for  girls.  Sally 
did  not  giggle,  but  acted  as  normal  sensible  girls 
should  act  when  pinning  aprons  on  young  men. 

She  tossed  him  a  towel  and  bade  him  dry  the 
plates  as  she  placed  them  on  the  drain  board.  She 
worked  quickly,  and  it  was  evident  that  she  was  a 


Il8  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

capable  and  efficient  young  woman  who  took  an 
honest  pride  in  her  work. 

"You've  never  stopped  here  before?  I  thought 
I  didn't  remember  you.  Well,  we're  always  glad 
to  see  the  Governor,  he's  so  funny ;  but  say,  some 
of  the  people  who  come  along  — !" 

"I  hope,"  said  Archie,  turning  a  dish  to  the  light 
to  be  sure  it  was  thoroughly  polished,  "I  hope  my 
presence  isn't  offensive  ?" 

"Cut  it  out!"  she  returned  crisply.  "Of  course 
you're  all  right.  I  knew  you  were  a  real  gent  the 
first  squint  I  got  of  you.  You  can't  fool  me  much 
on  human  nature." 

" You've  always  lived  up  here?"  asked  Archie, 
meek  under  her  frank  approval. 

"Certainly  not.  I  was  born  in  Missouri,  a  grand 
old  state  if  I  do  say  it  myself,  and  we  came  here 
when  I  was  twelve.  I  went  through  high  school 
and  took  dairying  and  the  domestic  arts  in  college 
and  I'm  twenty-three  if  you  care  to  know." 

He  had  known  finishing-school  girls  and  college 
girls  and  girls  who  had  been  educated  by  traveling 
governesses,  but  Sally  was  different  and  suffered 
in  no  whit  by  comparison.  Her  boasted  knowledge 
of  the  human  race  was  negligible  beside  her  familiar 
ity  with  the  mysterious  mechanisms  of  cream 
separators  and  incubators.  Fate  had  certainly 
found  a  strange. way  of  completing  his  education! 
But  for  the  shot  he  had  fired  in  the  lonely  house 
by  the  sea,  he  would  never  have  known  that  girls 
like  Sally  existed.  As  he  assisted  her  to  restore 
the  dishes  to  the  pantry,  she  crossed  the  kitchen 
with  queenly  stride.  Isabel  hadn't  a  finer  swing 
from  the  hips  or  a  nobler  carriage.  When  he 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      119 

abandoned  his  criminal  life  he  would  assemble 
somewhere  all  the  girls  he  had  met  in  his  pilgrimage. 
There  should  be  a  round  table,  but  where  Isabel  sat 
would  be  the  head,  and  his  sister  should  chaperone 
the  party.  When  it  dispersed  he  would  tell  Isabel, 
very  honestly,  of  his  reaction  to  each  one,  and  if 
she  took  him  to  task  for  his  susceptibility  it  would 
be  a  good  defense  that  she  was  responsible  for  send 
ing  him  forth  to  wrestle  with  temptation. 

When  the  kitchen  was  in  perfect  order  they  re 
ported  the  fact  to  Mrs.  Walker  and  Sally  suggested 
that  they .  stroll  to  a  trout  brook  which  was  her 
own  particular  property.  The  stream  danced 
merrily  from  the  hills,  a  friendly  little  brook  it 
was  —  just  such  a  ribbon  of  water  as  a  girl  like 
Sally  would  fancy  for  a  chum. 

"We  must  have  a  drink  or  you  won't  know  how 
sweet  and  cool  the  water  is!"  She  cupped  her 
hands  and  drank;  but  his  own  efforts  to  bring  the 
water  to  his  lips  were  clumsy  and  ineffectual. 

"Oh  you  !"  she  laughed.     "Let  me  show  you  !" 

Drinking  from  her  hands  was  an  experience  that 
transcended  for  the  moment  all  other  experiences. 
If  this  was  a  rural  approach  to  a  flirtation,  Miss 
Seebrook's  methods  were  much  safer,  and  the 
garden  of  the  Cornford  tavern  a  far  more  circum 
spect  stage  than  a  Vermont  brookside  shut  off  from 
all  the  world. 

He  had  decided  to  avoid  any  reference  to  the 
secrets  of  the  underground  trail,  but  his  delicacy 
received  a  violent  shock  a  moment  later,  when 
they  were  seated  on  a  bench  beside  the  brook. 

"Do  you  know,"  she  said,  "you  are  not  like  the 
others?" 


120      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

"I  don't  understand,"  he  faltered. 

"Oh,  cut  it  out !  You  needn't  try  to  fool  me ! 
When  I  told  you  awhile  ago  I  thought  you  were 
nice,  I  meant  more  than  that;  I  meant  that  you 
didn't  at  all  seem  like  the  crooks  that  sneak  through 
here  and  hide  at  our  house.  You're  more  like  the 
Governor,  and  I  never  understand  about  the  Gov 
ernor.  It  doesn't  seem  possible  that  any  one  who 
isn't  forced  by  necessity  into  crime  would  ever 
follow  the  life.  Now  you're  a  gentleman,  any  one 
could  tell  that,  but  I  suppose  you've  really  done 
something  pretty  bad  or  you  wouldn't  be  here ! 
Now  I'm  going  to  hand  it  to  you  straight;  that's 
the  only  way." 

"Certainly,  Miss  Walker;  I  want  you  to  be  per 
fectly  frank  with  me." 

"Well,  my  advice  would  be  to  give  yourself  up, 
do  your  time  like  a  man  and  then  live  straight. 
You're  young  enough  to  begin  all  over  again  and 
you  might  make  something  of  yourself.  The  Gov 
ernor  has  romantic  ideas  about  the  great  game  but 
that's  no  reason  why  you  should  walk  the  thorny 
road.  Now  pop  would  kill  me  if  he  knew  I  was 
talking  this  way.  It's  a  funny  thing  about  pop. 
All  I  know  about  him  I  just  picked  up  a  little  at  a 
time,  and  he  and  ma  never  wanted  me  to  know. 
Ma's  awful  nervous  about  so  many  of  the  boys 
stopping  here,  for  she  hung  on  to  pop  all  the  time 
he  was  shooting  up  trains  out  West,  and  having  a 
husband  in  the  penitentiary  isn't  a  pleasant  thing 
to  think  about.  Ma's  father  ran  a  saloon  down  in 
Missouri;  that's  how  she  got  acquainted  with  pop, 
but  ma  was  always  on  the  square,  and  they  both 
wanted  me  brought  up  right.  It  was  ma's  idea 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      121 

that  we  should  get  clean  away  from  pop's  old  life, 
and  she  did  all  the  brain  work  of  wiping  the  slate 
clean  and  coming  away  off  here.  We  were  a  couple 
of  years  doing  it,  trying  a  lot  of  other  places  all  over 
the  country  before  they  struck  this  ranch  and  felt  safe. 
Pop's  living  straight ;  you  needn't  think  he  isn't,  but 
he's  got  a  queer  hankering  to  see  the  sort  of  men  he 
used  to  train  with.  It's  natural,  I  suppose." 

"I  suppose  it  is.  But  you  must  have  suffered; 
I  can  imagine  how  you  feel,"  said  Archie,  who  had 
listened  to  her  long  speech  with  rapt  attention. 

"Well,  I  don't  know  that  I've  suffered  so  much," 
she  replied  slowly,  "but  I  do  feel  queer  sometimes 
when  I'm  around  with  young  folks  whose  fathers 
never  had  to  duck  the  cops.  Not  that  they've  any 
suspicions,  of  course ;  I  guess  pop  stands  well  round 
here." 

"I  can  understand  perfectly  how  your  father 
would  like  to  see  some  of  the  old  comrades  now 
and  then  and  even  give  them  shelter  and  help 
them  on  their  way.  That  speaks  highly  for  his 
generosity.  It's  a  big  thing  for  me  right  now  to  be 
put  up  here.  I'm  in  a  lot  of  trouble,  and  this  gives 
me  a  chance  to  get  my  bearings.  I  shall  always 
remember  your  father's  aid.  And  you  don't  know 
how  wonderful  it  is  to  be  sitting  beside  you  here 
and  talking  to  you  just  as  though  nothing  had  ever 
happened  to  me ;  really  as  though  I  wasn't  a  lost 
sheep  and  a  pretty  black  one  at  that." 

"I'm  sorry,"  she  answered.  "When  I  told  you 
you'd  better  go  and  do  your  time  and  get  done  with 
it,  I  didn't  mean  to  be  nasty.  But  I  was  thinking 
that  a  man  as  sensitive  as  I  judge  you  to  be  would 
be  happier  in  the  long  run.  Now  pop  had  an  old 


122  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

pal  who  drifted  along  here  a  couple  of  years  ago, 
and  pop  had  it  all  figured  out  to  shoot  him  right  up 
into  Canada,  but,  would  you  believe  it,  that  man 
simply  wouldn't  go  !  The  very  idea  of  being  in  a 
safe  place  where  he  was  reasonably  certain  of  not 
being  bothered  worried  him.  He  simply  couldn't 
stand  it.  He  was  so  used  to  being  chased  and  shot 
at  it  didn't  seem  natural  to  be  out  of  danger,  and 
pop  had  to  give  him  money  to  take  him  to  Okla 
homa  where  he'd  have  the  fun  of  teasing  the  sheriffs 
along.  And  he  had  his  wish  and  I  suppose  he  died 
happy,  for  we  read  in  the  papers  a  little  while  after 
ward  that  he'd  been  shot  and  killed  trying  to  hold 
up  a  bank." 

Archie  expressed  his  impatience  of  the  gentleman 
who  preferred  death  in  Oklahoma  to  a  life  of  tran 
quillity  in  the  Canadian  wilds. 

"Oh,  they  never  learn  anything,"  Sally  declared. 
"I  wouldn't  be  surprised  if  pop  didn't  pull  out 
some  time  and  beat  it  for  the  West.  It  must  be 
awful  tame  for  a  man  who's  stuck  pistols  into  the 
faces  of  express  messengers  and  made  bank  tellers 
hand  out  their  cash  to  settle  down  in  a  place  like 
this  where  there's  nothing  much  to  do  but  go  to 
church  and  prayer  meeting.  I  don't  know  how 
many  men  pop's  killed  in  his  time  but  there  must 
be  quite  a  bunch.  But  pop  doesn't  seem  to  worry 
much.  It  seems  to  me  if  I'd  ever  pumped  a  man 
full  of  lead  I'd  have  a  bad  case  of  insomnia." 

"Well,  I  don't  know,"  remarked  Archie,  weighing 
the  point  judicially.  "I  suppose  you  get  used  to  it 
in  time.  Your  father  seems  very  gentle.  You 
probably  exaggerate  the  number  of  his  —  er  — 
homicides." 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      123 

He  felt  himself  utterly  unqualified  to  express  with 
any  adequacy  his  sympathy  for  a  girl  whose  father 
had  flirted  with  the  gallows  so  shamelessly.  Walker 
had  courageously  entered  express  cars  and  jumped 
into  locomotive  cabs  in  the  pursuit  of  his  calling  and 
this  was  much  nobler  than  shooting  a  man  in  the 
back.  Sally  would  probably  despise  him  if  she 
knew  what  he  had  done. 

She  demurred  to  his  remark  about  her  father's 
amiability. 

"Well,  pop  can  be  pretty  rough  sometimes.  He 
and  I  have  our  little  troubles." 

"Nothing  serious,  I'm  sure.  I  can't  imagine  any 
one  being  unkind  to  you,  Sally." 

"It's  nice  of  you  to  say  that.  But  I'm  not  perfect 
and  I  don't  pretend  to  be !" 

Sympathy  and  tenderness  surged  within  him  at 
this  absurd  suggestion  that  any  one  could  harbor 
a  doubt  of  Sally's  perfection.  Her  modesty,  the 
tone  of  her  voice  called  for  some  more  concrete 
expression  of  his  understanding  than  he  could  put 
into  words.  Her  hand,  dimly  discernible  in  the 
dusk  of  the  June  stars,  was  invitingly  near.  He 
clasped  and  held  it,  warm  and  yielding.  She  drew 
it  away  in  a  moment  but  not  rebukingly.  The 
contact  with  her  hand  had  been  inexpressibly 
thrilling.  Not  since  his  prep  school  days  had  he 
held  a  girl's  hand,  and  the  brook  and  the  stars  sang 
together  in  ineffable  chorus.  It  was  bewildering 
to  find  that  so  trifling  an  act  could  afford  sensations 
so  charged  with  all  the  felicity  of  forbidden  delight. 

"I  wonder,"  she  said  presently;  "I  wonder 
whether  you  would  —  whether  you  really  would  do 
something  for  me  ? " 


124      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

"Anything  in  my  power,"  he  declared  hoarsely. 

"What  time  is  it?"  she  asked  with  a  jarring 
return  to  practical  things. 

She  bent  her  head  close  as  he  held  a  match  to  his 
watch.  It  was  half  past  eight. 

"We'll  have  to  hurry,"  she  said.  "When  I  told 
you  pop  and  I  didn't  always  agree  about  everything 
I  was  thinking  — " 

"Is  it  about  a  man?"  he  asked,  surmising  the 
worst  and  steeling  himself  for  the  blow  if  it  must 
fall.  He  would  show  her  how  generously  chivalrous 
a  man  could  be  toward  a  girl  who  honored  him  with 
her  confidence  and  appealed  for  his  assistance. 

"It  would  be  a  long  story,"  she  said  sadly,  "and 
there  isn't  time  to  tell  it,  but  the  moment  I  saw  you 
were  so  big  and  brave  and  strong,  I  thought  you 
might  help." 

To  be  called  big  and  brave  and  strong  by  so  charm 
ing  a  person,  to  enjoy  her  confidence  and  be  her 
chosen  aid  in  an  hour  of  need  and  perplexity  pro 
foundly  touched  him.  He  wished  that  Isabel  could 
have  heard  Sally's  tribute  to  his  strength  and 
courage  —  Isabel  who  had  said  only  a  few  days  ago 
that  he  wouldn't  kill  a  flea.  He  had  always  been 
too  modest  and  too  timid,  just  as  Isabel  had  said, 
but  those  days  were  passed  and  the  man  Isabel 
knew  was  very  different  from  the  man  who  sat  beside 
Bill  Walker's  daughter  under  the  glowing  Vermont 
stars.  Drums  were  beating  and  bugles  sounding 
across  the  hills  as  he  waited  for  Sally  to  send  him 
into  the  lists  with  her  colors  flying  from  his  spear. 

"I  wouldn't  trust  the  Governor;  he's  too  friendly 
with  pop  for  that.  It's  just  this  way,"  she  went  on 
dreamily.  "There's  a  young  man,  Abijah  Strong, 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  125 

who  owns  a  farm  just  a  little  way  down  the  road. 
He  and  I  have  been  in  love  with  each  other  ever 
since  we  went  to  school  together,  really  and  truly 
lovers.  He  was  at  college  when  I  was,  so  I  know 
him  very  well.  But  pop  doesn't  like  him,  and  when 
he  found  how  matters  stood  he  refused  to  allow  me 
to  see  him  any  more.  And  he's  been  very  hard 
about  it.  We've  been  waiting  for  a  chance  to  run 
away  and  get  married.  I  met  him  last  night  in  the 
lane  and  everything's  arranged  for  us  to  leave  to 
night,  run  into  Brattleboro  and  be  married  there 
and  then  go  on  to  Boston  and  wait  till  pop's  disposed 
to  be  reasonable." 

"He  will  be  very  angry,  of  course,"  said  Archie,  his 
ardor  somewhat  chilled  now  that  he  knew  the  nature 
of  the  project  in  which  she  asked  his  cooperation. 

"Yes;  pop  will  be  perfectly  crazy,"  she  affirmed 
with  a  lingering  intonation  that  seemed  to  imply 
a  certain  joy  in  the  prospective  disturbance  of  her 
parent's  equilibrium.  "He  wants  me  to  marry  a 
preacher  at  Saxby  Center  who's  almost  as  old  as  pop, 
and  has  three  grown  children.  I  thought  maybe 
you  could  pretend  to  take  me  out  for  a  little  ride 
in  your  car,  and  pick  up  Abijah  and  give  us  a  lift. 
My  things  are  all  packed  and  hid  away  in  the  garage ; 
so  all  I  need  to  do  is  to  get  my  hat." 

"Of  course  I  couldn't  come  back  here,"  Archie 
suggested.  "Your  father  would  be  sure  to  vent  his 
wrath  on  me." 

"Oh,  I'd  thought  of  that !"  she  exclaimed.  "But 
you  could  go  on  and  wait  somewhere  for  the  Gov 
ernor  to  catch  up  with  you." 

"I'd  have  to  make  sure  he  didn't  catch  up  with 
me  1  He'll  be  mighty  sore  about  this." 


1 26      BLACKSHEEP !  BLACKSHEEP ! 

"Well,  if  you're  afraid  of  him  — " 

"  Pooh !  I  certainly  am  not  afraid  of  h{m,"  he 
declared  contemptuously.  "He  and  I  were  bound 
to  part  sometime." 

In  the  half  hour  they  had  spent  together  by  the 
brook  he  had  forgotten  his  dependence  upon  the 
Governor  and  his  earlier  fears  that  the  master  crook 
might  desert  him.  Through  the  cajoleries  of  a  girl 
he  had  known  only  a  few  hours  he  was  ready  to 
break  with  his  comrade  by  mischievously  upsetting 
the  domestic  affairs  of  a  host  who  doubtless  had  not 
forgotten  how  to  kill  men  who  incurred  his  dis 
pleasure.  Sally  had  affected  him  like  a  strong 
cordial  and  as  they  walked  to  the  house  he  grew 
increasingly  keen  for  the  proposed  adventure. 
Sally,  like  Isabel,  had  dared  him  to  be  brave,  and 
he  screwed  his  courage  to  the  sticking  point. 

"If  you  don't  mind  I'll  take  Sally  for  a  little  run 
down  the  road,"  he  suggested  casually  when  they 
found  the  Governor  and  Mrs.  Walker  still  gossip 
ing  on  the  veranda. 

No  objection  was  raised  by  Mrs.  Walker  beyond 
an  injunction  not  to  be  gone  long  and  a  warning 
not  to  go  without  her  jacket.  The  permission  was 
given  so  readily  that  Archie  was  moved  to  make 
the  polite  suggestion  that  they  might  all  like  to  go  and 
his  heart  sank  when  the  Governor  promptly  seconded 
the  invitation.  But  to  his  immeasurable  relief  Mrs. 
Walker  professed  weariness  and  quickly  disposed 
of  the  matter. 

»  "No  joy  riding,"  the  Governor  called  after  them. 
"  Sally's  a  valuable  asset  of  this  family  and  I'll  hold 
you  personally  responsible,  Comly,  for  her  safe 


return." 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      127 

III 

At  the  garage  Sally  produced  a  satchel  which 
Archie  tossed  into  the  car,  and  they  were  quickly 
humming  through  the  lane  and  into  the  highway. 

"Abijah  expected  me  to  walk  down  to  meet  him 
if  I  could  get  away  tonight,  so  he'll  be  surprised 
when  I  come  in  a  machine,"  she  said  as  they  emerged 
into  the  open  road.  "He  was  to  wait  for  me  every 
night  until  I  saw  a  good  chance  to  skip.  His  car 
is  only  a  little  dinky  thing  and  he'll  be  tickled  to 
death  to  see  this  fine  machine." 

A  quick  spurt  of  ten  minutes  and  Sally  bade  him 
drive  slowly. 

"Run  by  the  school  house  when  we  come  to  it 
and  then  stop.  Abijah  will  be  there." 

When  the  car  stopped  Sally  jumped  out  and  was 
immediately  joined  by  a  young  man  to  whom  she 
spoke  rapidly  out  of  Archie's  hearing.  Her  ex 
planations  finished  she  brought  him  to  the  car  and 
presented  him  as  Mr.  Strong. 

"Mr.  Comly  is  going  to  the  minister's  with  us  and 
then  give  us  a  lift  toward  Boston.  That's  ever  so 
much  better  than  anything  we'd  thought  of,  'Bijah  !" 

"Whatever  you  say,  little  girl!  I'll  shut  off  the 
lights  on  my  machine  and  get  my  traps." 

Archie,  testing  his  searchlight,  let  its  beam  fall 
upon  Abijah  as  though  by  accident  and  found 
Sally's  lover  a  very  well-dressed,  decent-looking 
fellow.  All  his  life  he  would  be  proud  of  his  daring 
in  saving  Sally  Walker  from  marriage  with  the 
odious  widower  and  mating  her  with  the  youth  of 
her  choice.  The  bride  and  groom  elect  were 
established  in  the  back  seat  and  he  experienced 


128  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

a  sharp  jealous  twinge,  when,  turning  to  ask  her 
a  question  about  the  road,  he  caught  them  in  a 
rapturous  kiss.  This  was  what  it  meant  to  be  young 
and  free,  and  youth  and  freedom  were  things  he  had 
never  until  now  appraised  at  their  true  worth. 
Having  captured  and  mounted  destiny  he  would 
ride  with  a  tight  rein  and  relentless  spur.  The 
immediate  affair  was  much  to  his  taste,  and  he 
meditated  making  it  his  business  in  future  to  be 
friend  lovers  in  difficulties. 

"How  long  do  we  stop  at  Brattleboro  ?"  he  asked 
over  his  shoulder. 

"Only  long  enough  to  get  the  knot  tied,"  Abijah 
answered.  "I  was  in  town  this  afternoon  and 
everything's  set." 

"I  hope,"  said  Sally,  "you'll  give  the  bride  away; 
it  would  be  just  fine  of  you,  Mr.  Comly." 

"I  was  hoping  you'd  ask  me,"  he  flung  back. 
"I  want  to  be  as  prominent  in  the  wedding  party 
as  possible." 

The  last  time  he  had  figured  in  a  wedding  he  had 
been  best  man  for  a  college  friend  who  had  been 
married  at  high  noon  in  Grace  Church,  before  an 
audience  notably  distinguished  in  New  York  society. 
Sally's  nuptials  were  blest  in  a  little  parsonage,  with 
the  minister's  wife  and  daughter  and  Archie  as  the 
sole  witnesses.  The  minister  had  only  lately  come 
to  town  and  therefore  confined  his  inquiries  to  the 
strict  requirements  of  ecclesiastical  and  Vermont 
law.  When  he  lifted  his  head  to  ask  who  giveth 
this  woman  Archie  bestowed  Sally  upon  Abijah  with 
just  the  touch  of  grace  and  dignity  he  had  long 
noted  as  the  accepted  manner  of  giving  a  woman 
in  marriage  in  the  most  exacting  circles. 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      129 

The  groom  sheepishly  dug  two  one-dollar  bills 
out  of  his  trousers  pocket  and  the  sum  striking 
Archie  as  a  pitifully  inadequate  fee  he  slipped  a 
ten-dollar  bill  into  the  minister's  hand  as  the  bride 
and  groom  were  hurrying  from  the  house. 

"Well,  Sally,"  Archie  remarked,  as  he  joined 
them,  "for  better  or  worse  you  are  married.  I  cer 
tainly  wish  you  all  good  luck." 

"We'll  be  back  in  a  week  and  everything  will  be 
smooth  as  butter,"  Sally  declared  lightly. 

The  wedding  journey  from  Brattleboro  to  Ben-  . 
nington  was  marred  by  tire  trouble  and  freakishness 
on  the  part  of  the  engine,  and  as  neither  of  his 
passengers  knew  the  roads  Archie's  good  nature 
was  severely  tested  by  the  exigencies  of  the  night 
drive. 

Abijah  helped  with  the  tires  but  only  stared  help 
lessly  while  Archie  poked  at  the  engine.  Sally  was 
far  more  resourceful  and  lent  her  assistance  with 
her  usual  good  cheer,  a  cheer  which  Archie  felt  he 
would  miss  when  he  bade  them  good-by  at  Ben- 
nington.  As  a  mark  of  special  favor  she  moved  to 
the  front  seat  to  keep  him  company  and  facilitate 
the  study  of  sign  posts. 

"We're  only  making  half  time,"  said  Archie  after 
a  long  interruption.  "We'll  not  get  into  Bennington 
before  daylight." 

"I've  put  you  to  an  awful  lot  of  trouble,"  Sally 
remarked  with  real  contrition.  "And  you've  left 
your  friend  the  Governor  far  behind.  I  suppose 
they  started  out  to  look  for  us  in  pop's  machine 
when  we  didn't  show  up  and  they  may  be  close 
behind  us  now.  The  only  thing  I'm  sorry  about 
is  missing  hearing  pop  swear  when  he  found  I  had 


130  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

skipped.  It  would  be  funny  if  they  thought  I'd  run 
off  with  you,  wouldn't  it !  I'd  just  love  that !" 

"I  don't  think  it's  so  funny  you  didn't,"  Archie 
answered.  "I  think  it  was  my  mistake  !" 

The  groom  had  drawn  up  his  knees  and  was 
attempting  to  sleep  on  the  back  seat.  It  was  quite 
improper  to  flirt  with  the  newest  of  brides  but  Sally 
gave  tolerant  ear  and  even  encouraged  Archie's 
protestations  of  admiration  while  Abijah  bumped 
about  in  the  tonneau  and  now  and  then  rolled  off 
the  seat  when  the  enraptured  driver  negotiated  a 
sharp  turn.  But  for  Sally's  disposition  to  make 
the  most  of  her  last  hours  with  him  the  drive  would 
have  bored  Archie  exceedingly.  By  two  o'clock 
he  was  hungry  and  at  three  he  was  bringing  all  his 
powers  of  eloquence  to  bear  upon  the  obtuse  owner 
of  a  village  garage  who  was  stubbornly  hostile  to 
the  idea  of  leaving  his  bed  to  provide  a  lunatic  with 
gasoline.  Archie's  vociferous  oratory  had  the  pleas 
ing  effect  of  rilling  all  the  windows  in  the  neighbor 
hood  with  unsympathetic  hearers  and  the  village 
policeman  appeared  and  made  careful  note  of  car 
and  contents. 

"I  guess  you're  used  to  getting  what  you  go  after 
in  this  world,"  said  Sally  as  they  resumed  their 
journey.  "You  certainly  told  that  man  where  to 
get  off." 

"Just  a  little  firmness  will  go  a  long  way  with  such 
a  chap,"  Archie  answered,  marveling  at  his  newly 
discovered  command  of  the  unattainable.  A  week 
earlier  he  would  have  been  incapable  of  threatening 
a  whole  village  with  frightful  reprisals  unless  it 
responded  to  his  demands. 

"I  didn't  like  that  cop  poking  round  the  car," 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  131 

Abijah  complained.  "He  took  your  number  all 
right." 

"Don't  you  worry  about  policemen,"  Archie 
answered  scornfully.  "If  they  fool  with  me  I'll 
knock  their  blocks  off!" 

"I'll  say  you  would!"  cried  Sally  in  a  tone  of 
conviction  that  made  him  regret  that  no  policeman's 
head  was  in  reach  that  he  might  demonstrate  his 
valor  on  the  spot. 

Sally  and  Abijah  were  eager  to  leave  Bennington 
as  soon  as  possible. 

"Don't  think  we're  not  appreciating  what  you've 
done  for  us,"  said  Abijah,  "but  Sally  and  I  had 
better  shake  you  and  that  machine  right  here. 
Sally's  folks'll  be  sure  to  be  after  us  and  they'll 
just  about  argue  we  came  this  way." 

Archie  laid  to  his  soul  the  flattering  unction  that 
Abijah  was  jealous.  Justification  of  this  suspicion 
was  supported  by  the  bridegroom's  sudden  anxiety 
to  depart  out  of  Vermont  with  the  utmost  expedition. 
Archie  had  every  intention  of  ordering  as  gorgeous 
a  breakfast  as  Bennington's  best  hotel  could  pro 
vide,  but  Abijah  promptly  vetoed  this  suggestion 
and  they  ate  at  a  lunch  counter,  which  Archie  found 
a  most  disagreeable  proceeding.  Abijah  left  Sally 
and  Archie  eating  scrambled  eggs  while  he  set  forth 
to  acquire  information  about  trains.  He  returned 
while  they  were  still  at  the  counter  to  report  that 
a  train  was  almost  immediately  available.  His 
haste  annoyed  Archie,  who  hated  being  hurried  at 
his  meals.  At  the  station  Abijah  hung  about  the 
baggage-room,  where  he  had  no  business  whatever, 
as  though  trying  to  create  the  impression  that  he 
was  traveling  alone.  When  the  train  came  along 


132      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

he  climbed  into  the  smoker  with  his  own  bag,  leaving 
Archie  to  assist  Sally  into  the  chair  car. 

"Abijah's  just  a  little  afraid  pop  might  have 
telephoned,  you  know,  or  be  coming  after  us.  He'll 
move  in  here  when  the  train  starts." 

"I  don't  like  to  leave  you  like  this,"  said  Archie 
mournfully. 

"Oh,  it  will  be  all  right,"  Sally  answered  bravely. 
"Abijah's  nervous;  that's  all.  That  was  certainly 
some  ride  we  had  last  night.  I  hope  you'll  go  up 
to  the  hotel  now  and  get  a  good  sleep." 

"Oh,  I'll  look  out  for  that,"  Archie  replied. 

His  arrears  of  sleep  did  not  trouble  him ;  but  the 
thought  of  losing  Sally  broke  his  heart.  The  hard 
night  ride  had  left  no  traces  on  her  face.  Her  cheeks 
were  aglow  and  her  eyes  were  bright.  When  he 
said  again,  a  little  tremulously,  that  he  hated  to 
leave  her  he  had  never  made  a  more  honest  statement 
in  his  life. 

"I  suppose  we'll  hardly  meet  again,"  he  said  with 
a  dejection  which  he  hoped  would  elicit  a  promise 
of  further  meetings. 

"I'm  afraid  it  will  be  a  long,  long  time  before  I  see 
you,"  she  said  with  a  lingering  tenderness  and 
wistfulness.  . 

"I  hope  you're  going  to  be  very  happy,  Sally. 
And  I  shall  think  of  you  always  as  you  were  last 
night.  I  shall  never  forget  our  talk  by  the  brook." 

"Neither  shall  I,"  she  murmured.  Her  lashes 
were  wonderful ;  not  till  that  moment  had  he  done 
justice  to  her  lashes. 

"  I  want  to  give  you  a  little  present  —  something 
you  can  hide  away  to  make  sure  you  are  not 
embarrassed  in  any  way  until  you  get  settled.  I 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  133 

wish  it  were  gold,  but  you  won't  mind.  You  under 
stand,  don't  you,  Sally  ?" 

He  always  carried  a  five-hundred-dollar  bill  against 
emergencies  and  this  he  had  clung  to  through  all  his 
adventures.  He  now  produced  it  from  his  inner 
waistcoat  pocket  and  slipped  it  into  her  hand. 

Her  brow  clouded  for  an  instant ;  then  she  smiled 
radiantly. 

"I  oughtn't  to  take  it;  but  I  know  you  mean  it 
all  right.  It's  dear  of  you,"  and  her  tone  and  the 
immeasurable  kindness  of  her  eyes  were  easily  worth 
five  hundred  dollars. 

Belated  passengers  were  now  brushing  past  them 
in  the  aisle.  The  conductor,  walking  briskly  along 
the  platform,  shouted  all  aboard  with  heartless 
finality.  It  seemed  like  the  voice  of  doom  to 
Archie. 

"Good-by,  Sally!" 

He  put  out  his  hand,  but  with  a  quickness  that 
took  his  breath  away  she  flung  her  arms  round  his 
neck  and  kissed  him.  The  touch  of  her  hand  by 
the  brook  under  the  stars  was  as  nothing  to  this. 
Two  young  girls  seeking  seats  giggled  at  the  frank 
ness  and  heartiness  of  the  salutation.  In  old  times 
Archie  would  have  perished  of  humiliation ;  but  an 
overwhelming  joy  filled  his  soul.  The  giggles  of 
bread-and-butter  misses  who  knew  nothing  of  life 
and  love  were  beneath  his  notice.  Sally's  arms 
were  still  about  his  neck,  her  lips  were  parted  expec 
tantly. 

"You  must  go,  honey,"  she  whispered  and  his  kiss 
fell  like  a  punctuation  upon  her  last  delectable  word. 

If  she  hadn't  given  him  a  gentle  push  toward  the 
door  he  might  never  have  reached  the  vestibule. 


134      BLACKSHEEP !  BLACKSHEEP ! 

Another  person  who  shared  his  haste  to  leave  the 
train  materially  assisted  him  by  gentle  pressure  to 
the  platform.  His  brain  whirled  from  the  intoxi 
cation  of  Sally's  kiss  —  indeed  the  two  kisses,  or 
specifically  the  kiss  received  and  the  kiss  returned/ 
But  his  exaltation  was  of  brief  duration,  for  there 
beside  him  stood  Isabel  like  an  accusing  angel, 
severe  and  implacable.  It  was  she  whose  gentle 
impulsion  had  facilitated  his  exit  from  the  parlor 
car,  and  beyond  question  she  had  witnessed  the 
kissing,  a  disagreeable  circumstance  that  fell 
smotheringly  upon  his  ecstatic  mood. 

"You  were  on  that  train!"  he  exclaimed;  —  the 
most  fatuous  of  questions  and  the  poorest  possible 
opening  for  a  conversation. 

She  ignored  his  inquiry.  It  was  now  her  turn  to 
give  way  under  the  stress  of  emotion  and  the  in 
dignant  tears  shone  in  her  eyes. 

"I  thought  I  had  made  it  sufficiently  plain  at 
Portsmouth  that  I  resent  your  following  me!  The 
meeting  there  might  have  been  by  accident,  but 
seeing  you  here  I  am  convinced  —  I  am  convinced 
that  you  are  spying  upon  me  !"  j 

"But,  Miss  Perry  — " 

"I  should  think,"  she  interrupted,  "that  knowing 
or  suspecting  what  I  am  trying  to  do  you  would 
show  me  some  consideration  !" 

"But  I  can  explain;    really  I  can  explain  if  you 
will  give  me  a  moment !     It  probably  hai  a't  occurred 
to  you  that  I'm  a  good  deal  mystified  by  these  little 
journeys  you  are  making  over  New  England  !     Myj 
own  dallying  in  these  parts  is  due  to  circumstances , 
I  can  easily  explain.     In  fact,  but  for  you  I  should 
not  be  here  at  all !" 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!.      135 

This,  uttered  with  a  conciliatory  smile  and  quite 
calmly,  not  only  failed  to  mollify  her  anger  but 
produced  quite  the  opposite  effect.  Her  agitation 
increased,  and  for  the  second  time  they  presented  the 
picture  of  a  man  and  woman  involved  in  a  quarrel 
in  a  public  place. 

"I  understand  perfectly  that  but  for  me  you 
shouldn't  be  loitering  here  !  And  you  practically 
acknowledged  at  Portsmouth  that  you  were  inter 
esting  yourself  in  the  affairs  of  the  Congdons  !" 

"We  are  playing  at  cross  purposes  quite  un-r 
necessarily,"  protested  Archie.  "Why  not  confess 
just  what  your  interest  is  in  that  family  ?  I  told  you 
quite  plainly  at  Portsmouth  that  I  had  reason  to 
believe  I  had  shot  Putney  Congdon  at  Bailey 
Harbor !  But  for  the  courage  you  put  in  my  heart 
I  should  never  have  done  that !" 

"If  you  did  that  you  have  ruined  everything! 
A  dastardly  act  for  which  I  hope  you  will  pay  the  full 
penalty  of  the  law !" 

This  was  wholly  unreasonable  and  quite  beside 
himself  he  shook  his  ringer  in  her  face. 

"You  seem  to  forget  that  you  advised  me  to  flout 
the  law;  to  do  just  the  things  I  have  been  doing, 
roving  the  world,  shooting  and  plundering  !  There's 
a  policeman  at  ,.he  other  end  of  the  platform ;  call 
him  and  turn  me  over  to  the  authorities !" 

She  glanced  hurriedly  in  the  direction  of  a  police 
man  who  had  filched  a  banana  from  a  bunch  provi 
dentially  exposed  to  his  rapacity  on  a  truck,  and  was 
hastily  consuming  it. 

"Maybe  he  is  watching  me  !"  she  gasped. 

For  a  young  woman  who  had  prescribed  outlawry 
as  a  cure  for  obstreperous  nerves  her  alarm  was 
astonishing. 


136  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"May  I  ask,  Miss  Perry,  what  reason  you  have 
for  fearing  the  authorities  ?" 

"That  of  course  is  what  you  would  like  to  know !" 
she  replied  tearfully.  "  But  you  know  too  much ! 
If  you  have  told  me  the  truth  your  meddlesomeness 
will  have  far-reaching  consequences  too  dreadful 
to  think  about !  Your  assumed  name  tells  its  own 
story  and  convinces  me  that  you  have  not  told  the 
truth.  I  went  aboard  that  train  to  look  for  some 
one  I  hoped  I  might  meet,  and  you  know  perfectly 
well  why  I  am  here." 

He  could  only  stammer  a  futile  expostulation  at 
the  gross  injustice  of  this. 

"Everything  has  gone  wrong,"  she  continued, 
"and  you  may  have  all  the  satisfaction  you  can  get 
out  of  your  interference,  your  intrusion  upon  affairs 
of  the  greatest  delicacy,  in  which  my  assistance  and 
my  honor  are  pledged.  That  car  standing  yonder 
belongs  to  me  and  before  I  leave  I  want  you  to  walk 
away  from  here  as  rapidly  as  possible  and  not  turn 
your  head  !" 

He  did  not  even  confirm  her  statement  as  to  the 
propinquity  of  the  car  but  crossed  the  platform  with 
the  crestfallen  air  of  a  child  in  disgrace.  She  had 
loftily  ignored  the  kissing  of  Mrs.  Abijah  Strong. 
The  osculatory  adventure  with  Sally  shrank  at  once 
in  importance  from  the  fact  that  Isabel  had  not  only 
ignored  it  but  had  made  it  wholly  unnecessary  for 
him  to  explain  that  transaction. 

He  knew  nothing  save  that  he  was  enormously 
tired  and  he  went  to  the  hotel  and  crawled  wearily 
into  bed.  ' 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      137 

IV 

It  was  close  upon  six  o'clock  when  a  knock  roused 
him  from  a  sleep  that  had  not  been  easily  won. 

"It's  yo'  baggage,  boss!" 
•    "Baggage  ?"  repeated  Archie. 

He  had  told  the  clerk  he  had  no  baggage  and  had 
paid  in  advance  for  his  room.  His  suit-case  was  at 
Walker's  and  it  was  hardly  possible  that  Walker 
had  forwarded  his  effects.  He  opened  the  door 
cautiously  and  saw  at  a  glance  that  the  bag  was 
undeniably  his.  He  groped  for  his  trousers  and  gave 
the  waiting  porter  half  a  dollar. 

"How  did  it  get  here  ?"  he  asked  with  attempted 
indifference. 

"Don't  know  nuffin'  'bout  it,  suh ;  gemmen  tole 
me  tote  'er  up.  If  it  ain't  all  right  - 

"Oh,  it's  all  right  enough!"  Archie  exclaimed 
hastily,  fearing  to  pursue  the  inquiry. 

He  opened  the  bag  and  found  that  it  not  only 
contained  all  his  belongings  but  they  had  been 
packed  neatly  by  an  experienced  hand.  The  un 
accountable  arrival  of  his  luggage  sent  his  thoughts 
flying  to  Walker's  farm  and  the  Governor. 

Pleased  as  he  was  by  the  arrival  of  his  effects,  the 
reappearance  of  the  bag  brought  him  back  to  earth 
with  a  reverberating  jar.  He  was  confident  that 
malevolent  agencies  were  responsible ;  and  to  be 
reminded  thus  sharply  of  the  powers  of  evil  just 
when  he  craved  nothing  so  much  as  slumber's  ob 
livion  was  disturbing  and  ominous. 

He  was  sitting  on  the  edge  of  the  bed  idly  smoothing 
the  wrinkles  out  of  a  pet  necktie  when  a  gently 
insinuating  knock  unpreluded  by  a  step  in  the  hall 
caused  him  to  start. 


138      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

"Come!" 

The  door  opened  slowly,  wide  enough  to  permit 
a  man's  head  to  be  thrust  in.  A  face  wearing  an 
amused  smile,  a  familiar  face  but  the  last  he  ex 
pected  to  see,  met  his  gaze. 

"Hist!" 

The  Governor  widened  the  opening  in  the  door  and 
squeezed  through.  . 

"My  dear  Archie!"  he  exclaimed  as  he  locked 
the  door,  "how  infinitely  relieved  I  am !  I  was 
afraid  some  harm  had  befallen  you,  but  to  find  you 
here  safe  and  sound  fills  my  heart  with  gratitude." 

He  flung  down  his  cap  and  linen  duster,  chose 
a  chair  by  the  window  and  seated  himself  with  a 
little  sigh. 

"I  hope,"  Archie  ventured  timidly,  "that  you 
came  alone  ?" 

"Oh,  yes;  Pm  alone!  Trust  me  for  that;  but 
my  friend  Walker  was  not  easily  shaken.  A  strong 
passionate  nature,  Walker;  a  man  long  habituated 
to  the  lethal  knife,  the  unerring  pistol.  No  easy 
task  you  may  well  believe  to  get  rid  of  him.  And 
his  provocation !  O  my  boy,  his  provocation  to 
justifiable  homicide  and  all  that  sort  of  thing !" 

"Well,  I  only  did  what  I  thought  was  right," 
Archie  declared  doggedly.  "I  wasn't  weighing  the 
consequences." 

The  Governor,  filling  his  pipe,  lifted  a  hand  to 
emphasize  the  "splendid"  with  which  he  received 
this  statement. 

"Splendid,  my  dear  Archie,  to  see  how  beautifully 
you  rose  to  the  situation  —  a  situation  that  spoke 
powerfully  to  your  generous  heart !  If  there  has 
been  any  error  it  is  mine.  I  should  have  known  from 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      139 

the  way  you  played  up  to  the  Seebrook  girl  that  you 
were  far  too  susceptible  to  be  trusted  with  women. 
The  error  is  mine ;  not  yours,  Archie ;  I  don't  blame 
you  a  particle.  Indeed  the  incident  warms  my 
heart  to  you.  Sally  is  a  winsome  lass ;  she  has  a  way 
with  her,  that  girl!" 

"I  would  have  done  the  same  thing  for  any  girl 
in  like  circumstances,"  Archie  declared,  pacing  the 
floor  with  shoulders  erect. 

"I  dare  say  you  would!  Your  heart  and  your 
sword  are  at  the  command  of  any  pretty  jade  who 
squints  at  you  !  But  when  I  suggested  tjiat  it  might 
be  well  for  you  to  keep  in  practice  I  didn't  mean  for 
you  to  make  a  monkey  of  yourself.  Your  true  love 
—  what  did  you  say  her  name  is  ?" 

To  recall  Isabel  to  his  memory  was  a  greater 
mockery  than  the  Governor  knew,  but  Archie  met 
the  question  with  well-feigned  unconcern. 

"I  didn't  say,"  he  answered;  "but  her  name  is 
Isabel." 

"Ah  !  One  of  the  few  really  perfect  names  in  the 
whole  list !  Rather  more  style  to  it  than  Sally ! 
And  yet  Sally  has  been  used  to  good  advantage  by 
the  balladists.  To  *  Sally  in  Our  Alley,'  we  might 
add  Sally  at  the  Churn  or  Sally  Softly  Singing  in 
the  Corn,  or  Sally  Leading  Archie  by  the  Ear.  The 
possibilities  are  exquisite." 

"If  you  don't  mind,"  said  Archie  with  dignity, 
"we'll  stop  talking  nonsense.  I  want  to  know  what 
happened." 

"Just  a  little  curious,  are  you,  as  to  what  followed 
your  amazing  breach  of  hospitality  ?  Ran  away 
with  a  pretty  girl,  assisted  in  marrying  her  to  an 
undesirable  son-in-law,  and  now  you  want  to  know 


140      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

how  the  old  folks  take  it !  Oh,  Archie,  for  sheer 
innocence  you  are  a  wonder!" 

"Walker  had  no  right  to  force  a  girl  like  Sally  to 
marry  an  old  curmudgeon  she  hated.  I  never 
hesitated  as  to  the  course  I  should  take  after  she 
told  me  her  story.  The  marriage  was  in  proper  form 
and  I  haven't  a  single  regret !" 

The  Governor  rocked  with  delight. 

"You  didn't  miss  a  stroke!"  he  exclaimed  wiping 
the  tears  from  his  eyes.  "The  marriage  satisfied 
all  legal  requirements.  Your  work  was  only  too 
well  done !" 

"I'm  glad  you're  satisfied,"  said  Archie  spitefully. 
"And  if  Walker  is  a  sensible  man  he  will  welcome 
the  young  couple  home  and  make  the  best  of  it." 

"It  saddens  me  to  be  obliged  to  speak  the  grievous 
truth  when  your  conscience  is  so  pleased  with  itself. 
Let  me  deal  in  surmises  a  moment  before  I  hand  you 
a  few  unhappy  facts.  Sitting  with  Sally  down  by 
the  brook  and  probably  holding  her  hand"  — 
(Archie  flinched) -- "holding  her  hand  perhaps, 
and  strongly  tempted  to  kiss  her,  you  fell  an  easy 
prey  to  her  fascinations.  She  told  you  a  plausible 
yarn  as  to  Walker's  cruelty  in  wanting  her  to  marry 
a  tottering  old  widower  and  asked  you  to  assist  her 
to  elope  with  a  sturdy  young  farmer  who  was  even 
then  waiting  for  her  by  the  old  mill  or  the  school 
house,  or  something  like  that.  And  your  heart 
swelled  to  bursting  with  the  thought  of  serving  one 
so  fair!  Wholly  natural,  Archie,  for  I  too  have 
dwelt  in  Arcady!  If  that  minx  hadn't  told  you 
she  had  a  lover  loitering  in  the  background,  you'd 
probably  have  thrown  yourself  into  the  breach  and 
eloped  with  her  yourself.  Yes,  you  would,  Archie ! 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  141 

I  must  have  a  care  of  you  or  your  Isabel  will  never 
meet  you  at  the  altar !" 

"We're  not  talking  of  Isabel,"  Archie  interrupted 
haughtily.  "I'll  trouble  you  to  say  all  you  have  to 
say  about  Sally  and  Abijah." 

"Abijah!"  squeaked  the  Governor,  again  over 
come  by  mirth. 

For  the  first  time  Archie  disliked  the  Governor. 
His  unsympathetic  attitude  toward  the  elopement 
was  intolerable.  A  round  of  abuse  would  have  been 
more  palatable  than  this  ironic  jesting.  The  Gov 
ernor  saw  that  he  had  gone  too  far  and  immediately 
shifted  the  key. 

"What  you  did,  Archie,"  he  resumed  paternally, 
"what  you  did  was  to  marry  Sally,  the  incomparable, 
Sally  the  divine,  to  Pete  Barney,  the  diamond  thief. 
He  took  refuge  with  Walker  a  couple  of  weeks  ago, 
and  the  old  man  extended  him  his  usual  generous 
hospitality.  Barney  had  been  well  vouched  for  and 
had  all  the  pass-words  and  countersigns  of  the  great 
fraternity,  but  Walker  mistrusted  him.  A  week  is 
the  usual  limit  for  a  pilgrim's  stay,  and  seeing  how 
Sally  and  Barney  were  hitting  it  off  the  old  man  gave 
the  chap  a  hint  to  move  along.  He  didn't  go,  it 
seems,  but  hung  round  the  neighborhood  waiting 
for  a  chance  to  pull  off  the  elopement  in  which  you 
so  kindly  assisted  even  to  the  extent  of  bolting  with 
Slippery  Abe's  car." 

"You  mean  —  you  mean  I  married  the  girl  to  a 
crook?"  gasped,  Archie. 

"One  of  the  smoothest  in  the  game!  And  Sally 
knew  he  was  a  crook  !  I  suppose  it  was  the  diamonds 
that  fetched  her.  If  you'd  looked  at  his  hands  you 
would  have  noticed  that  he  hadn't  the  paws  of  an 


142      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

honest  Green  Mountain  farmer.  Pick-pocket  orig 
inally  and  marvelously  deft;  but  precious  stones 
are  his  true  metier.  The  trifling  little  necklace  he 
had  on  his  person  when  he  struck  Walker's  is  worth 
a  cool  hundred  thousand.  He'll  have  to  break  it  up 
and  sell  'em  in  the  usual  way  and  it  will  take  time." 

Archie  sank  upon  the  bed,  twisting  his  hands  to 
gether.  He  had  done  a  horrible  thing,  hardly  second 
to  murder,  and  his  penitence  weighed  heavily  upon 
him. 

uYou  are  not  chaffing  me!  It  doesn't  seem  pos 
sible  that  the  girl  would  have  deceived  me !" 

"We  never  know  when  they  are  going  to  deceive 
us,  Archie !  I  hate  to  think  that  Sally  inherited  a 
strain  of  lawlessness  and  yet  she  hated  the  farm  and 
was  crazy  to  escape.  I  forgot  to  mention  that  she 
lifted  a  couple  of  hundred  dollars  the  old  man  kept 
under  a  plank  in  the  parlor  floor  —  an  emergency 
fund  in  case  he  ever  had  to  run  for  it.  A  nasty  trick, 
I  call  it ;  most  unfilial  on  Sally's  part.  The  Walkers 
are  crushed  by  her  conduct.  They  have  tried  to 
shield  her  from  all  the  sorrow  and  shame  of  the  world ; 
and  there  was  really  a  very  decent  young  farmer  wild 
to  marry  her,  old  New  England  stock,  revolutionary 
stuff,  aristocrats,  you  may  say.  And  if  you  hadn't 
muddled  everything  it  would  have  come  about  in 
time.  But  you  will  have  your  fling,  Archie !  You 
certainly  spilled  the  beans.  And  I  had  vouched  for 
you  at  the  Walkers' ;  it's  almost  as  bad  as  though  I 
had  betrayed  them  myself.  You  will  not,  of  course, 
make  the  serious  error  of  knocking  at  the  Walker 
door  again !  That  would  be  rubbing  it  in ;  but  I 
hope  you  have  learned  your  lesson.  It  probably 
didn't  occur  to  you  that  I  might  have  been  sore 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  143 

enough  to  mention  somewhere  your  connection  with 
certain  blood  stains  on  the  board  walk  at  Bailey 
Harbor.  You  should  have  a  care  of  yourself  I" 

"1  don't  want  you  to  think  me  ungrateful,"  Archie 
stammered.  "The  girl  made  a  fool  of  me;  I  see  it 
all  now!" 

"She  made  a  fool  of  you  but  you  in  turn  made  a 
fool  of  me !  And  while  I'm  not  caviling,  you  will 
pardon  me,  son,  if  I  suggest  that  hereafter  you  play 
square  with  me.  I'm  no  saint,  but  I  wouldn't  desert 
a  comrade  or  stick  a  knife  in  his  back.  Please  under 
stand  that  I  don't  mean  to  curb  your  personal  enter 
prise,  or  set  any  limit  on  your  little  affairs  of  the 
heart.  You  are  not  the  first  man  who  thought  he 
understood  women,  and  you  are  not  the  last  victim 
of  that  deplorable  delusion.  But  let's  have  no  more 
foolishness." 

"I  haven't  a  thing  to  say  for  myself!"  blurted 
Archie,  who  was  at  the  point  of  tears.  "I  was 
weak,  miserably  weak.  I  had  no  idea  that  any  one 
could  lie  as  that  girl  did.  And  it's  not  fair  for  me 
to  stay  on  with  you.  I  can't  ask  you  to  trust  me 
again.  We'd  better  part  company  right  here!" 

"How  completely  you  misjudge  me,  Archie! 
There's  a  charm  in  you  begotten  of  your  very  inno 
cence  and  helplessness,  and  I  should  be  very  un 
happy  if  we  parted  now.  We've  shared  some  danger 
together  and  in  spite  of  your  weaknesses  I'm  fond 
of  you.  And  if  I  left  you  to  your  own  devices  some 
thing  quite  disastrous  might  happen  to  you." 

Discomfited  and  humiliated  as  he  was  the  very 
thought  of  going  out  into  the  world  alone  filled  Archie 
with  horror.  Under  Sally's  hypnotic  influence  he 
had  concluded  that  the  Governor  was  a  negligible 


144      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

factor  in  his  life;  but  away  from  the  girl  and  rank 
ling  under  her  deceit  he  grasped  at  the  Governor's 
friendship  with  the  frantic  clutch  of  a  drowning 
man.  The  Governor  drew  out  his  bill  fold  and  ex 
tracted  from  it  a  newspaper  cutting. 

"Note  this,  Archie,  from  a  Boston  paper  of  today. 
Our  old  friend  Congdon  has  stirred  up  the  Boston 
police  about  the  disappearance  of  his  son.  I  don't 
ask  you  to  make  any  comment  on  that  item ;  I  merely 
call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  Putney  Congdon 
is  on  the  missing  list  and  like  ourselves  Putney  Cong 
don  was  at  Bailey  Harbor.  Nothing  particularly 
startling  in  all  this,  as  the  police  records  show  some 
thing  like  an  average  of  one  thousand  four  hundred 
and  thirteen  missing  or  unaccounted  for  persons  in 
the  United  States  every  year.  This  paper  says  that 
Congdon  was  seen  by  one  person  and  one  only  at 
Bailey  Harbor.  That  was  a  garage  man  who  sold 
him  some  gas  —  it  was  a  stormy  night  —  and  in 
cidentally  that  night  poor  Hoky  set  sail  for  the  happy 
isles.  And  the  date  is  further  memorable  from  the 
fact  that  it  was  the  occasion  of  our  first  meeting. 
And  the  blood  stains  on  the  board  walk  of  one  of  the 
streets  at  Bailey — " 

"Stop,  for  God's  sake!"  cried  Archie.  "I'll  tell 
you  everything;  I'll — " 

"You'll  tell  me  nothing,  because  I  refuse  to  listen  ! 
Confessing  is  a  habit.  If  I  encourage  you  to  confess 
to  me  you'll  be  pouring  your  tale  into  the  ear  of  the 
first  policeman  you  meet.  As  things  stand  you  are 
not  suspected,  and  if  we  follow  my  program  you  are 
likely  to  walk  the  world  in  safety  for  the  rest  of  your 
days.  If  I  knew  the  circumstances  I  might  become 
nervous  and  I  must  retain  my  poise  or  we  perish. 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      145 

Your  autobiography  for  the  past  week  or  so  would 
make  a  ripping  narrative,  but  you'd  better  learn  to 
forget.  Our  yesterdays  are  as  nothing;  it's  to 
morrow  we've  got  to  think  about.  Those  Congdons 
are  rather  a  picturesque  lot  as  I  catch  them  in  cinema 
flashes.  It  appears  from  the  paper  that  young 
Putney's  wife  had  left  him,  and  there  was  some 
sort  of  row  about  the  children.  The  old  boy  we 
struck  at  Cornford  will  probably  be  charging  the 
absconding  wife  with  killing  Putney  the  first  thing 
we  know !" 

"Charge  Mrs.  Congdon  with  killing  her  husband ! 
O  my  God  !"  wailed  Archie. 

"Control  yourself,  my  dear  boy!  One  would  in 
fer  from  that  item  that  Mrs.  Congdon  dropped  off 
the  earth  after  she  left  Bailey  Harbor.  She  and  her 
children  motored  out  of  Bailey  and  haven't  yet 
reached  their  house  in  New  York,  for  which  she 
was  presumably  bound.  By  Jove,  it's  woozzy  the 
way  these  Congdons  keep  bobbing  up !  I'd  give 
something  handsome  to  know  how  the  old  chap 
and  Seebrook  came  out  at  Cornford.  I  learn  that 
they're  holding  Silent  Tim,  the  chap  I  told  you  would 
be  arrested,  and  our  part  in  the  delicate  transaction 
is  already  obscured." 

Archie  was  giving  the  Governor  only  half  attention. 
His  nerves  were  unstrung  by  the  bald,  colorless  re 
port  of  Putney  Congdon's  disappearance,  which 
shocked  him  all  the  more  from  the  fact  that  it  was 
so  hideously  commonplace,  merely  a  bit  of  journal 
istic  routine.  He  wished  the  Governor  would  stop 
reading  newspapers.  Now  that  the  man's  disap 
pearance  had  been  heralded  the  police  of  the  entire 
country  would  be  searching  for  him  dead  or  alive 


146  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

and  if  his  body  were  found  there  would  be  a  great 
hue  and  cry  until  his  murderer  was  apprehended. 

The  Governor  was  unconcernedly  sketching  one 
of  the  diagrams  with  which  he  seemed  to  visualize 
his  plans.  These  he  made  in  small  compass,  any 
scrap  of  paper  serving  his  purpose.  Archie  had 
supposed  this  was  a  means  of  recalling  places  and 
highways  and  determining  the  time  required  to  reach 
a  certain  point,  but  the  Governor  was  always  at 
pains  to  conceal  these  calculations  or  memoranda. 
Archie  was  startled  now  to  hear  his  companion  mut 
tering  to  himself: 

"Aries,   the  Lamb,   the   Fishes !      For   a  time   I 
stumbled  and  walked  in  darkness  but  the  leading 
light  is  clearer  now.     The  moving  finger  writes  — 
writes!"     He  dropped  his  pencil  and  gazed  blankly 
into  space. 

Archie  had  caught  one  day  a  glimpse  of  several 
of  the  zodiacal  signs  drawn  on  the  margin  of  a  news 
paper  where  the  Governor  had  neglected  to  erase 
them ;  but  he  was  astounded  to  find  that  he  was  in 
the  company  of  a  man  who  took  counsel  of  the  stars. 

"  Ne  sous  une  mauvaise  etoilel  You  catch  the 
sense  admirably.  Yes,  I  was  born  under  an  evil 
star ;  just  that !  But  if  I  haven't  pondered  the  mys 
teries  unprofitably  I  shall  emerge  from  the  shadow 
in  due  season.  When  you  see  me  scribbling  I  am 
calculating  the  potency  of  the  dark  fate  that  over 
hangs  me  and  trying  to  estimate  when  if  ever  the 
cloud  will  pass.  Don't  trouble  your  head  with  those 
fancies ;  leave  them  to  me.  Hope  is  buoyed  in  me  by 
the  fact  that  never  yet  have  my  figures  erred.  The 
night  before  I  picked  you  up  in  the  road  I  knew  that 
you  were  walking  toward  me  out  of  nowhere,  and 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  147 

I  was  charged  by  the  planets  to  befriend  you.  So 
here  we  are,  pilgrims  under  heavenly  protection !" 

"I'm  sorry ;  I  don't  want  to  leave  you  ;  I  couldn't 
make  it  alone,"  Archie  answered,  awed  and  meek 
under  these  revelations. 

"It's  very  curious,  Archie,"  the  Governor  re 
sumed,  making  a  little  pile  of  the  scraps  to  which  he 
had  already  reduced  the  sketch;  "it's  quite  remark 
able  that  the  light  still  hangs  in  the  west  for  us.  Since 
you  joined  me  it  has  been  more  brilliant.  It  may 
be  that  after  all  you  are  destined  to  bring  me  good 
luck !"  He  paced  the  floor  for  several  minutes,  then 
struck  his  hands  together  sharply.  "All  right!"  he 
exclaimed.  "It  has  never  failed  me!  The  light  is 
mild,  feminine,  we  shall  say,  gentle,  persuasive,  en 
couraging.  It  would  be  fatal  to  ignore  its  message." 

Archie  watched  him  for  some  gleam  of  humor,  but 
the  Governor  had  never  been  more  serious.  His  face 
lighted  as  he  found  Archie's  eyes  fixed  upon  him. 

"  You  were  thinking  just  then  that  I've  gone  crazy ; 
but  I  assure  you  that  I'm  perfectly  able  to  give  my 
self  all  the  tests  for  insanity ;  I  should  recognize  the 
symptoms  immediately,  from  my  ability  to  look  into 
myself  with  the  detachment  of  a  man  who  stands 
at  a  window  and  peers  into  a  lighted  room.  To  re 
turn  to  practical  affairs,  we  shall  abandon  Collins' 
machine  and  I'll  wire  him  where  to  pick  it  up.  Then 
we'll  entrain  at  our  leisure." 

"If  you  don't  mind  my  asking,  I'd  like  to  know 
where  we're  bound  for  ? " 

"New  York,  my  dear  boy;  but  you  needn't  be 
alarmed.  It  will  be  hot  there  and  we'll  only  pause 
for  a  day  or  so.  We  both  need  to  freshen  up  our 
wardrobe  a  bit." 


148  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

Archie  shook  his  head  stubbornly. 

"I  haven't  told  you  this,  but  I'm  supposed  to  be 
in  the  Canadian  Rockies.  It  would  be  a  risky  busi 
ness  for  me  to  show  up  in  town  !  I  might  at  any  turn 
run  into  relatives  or  friends  who  know  I  left  for  a  two 
months'  absence  in  the  Rockies.  And  incidentally, 
the  same  people  might  know  I  had  been  to  Bailey 
Harbor." 

"You're  a  frightful  egotist,  Archie!  This  is  a 
large  world  and  man's  memory  is  short.  The  man 
you  dine  with  most  frequently  at  your  club  wouldn't 
remember  in  a  week  whether  you  told  him  you  were 
going  to  the  Rockies  or  the  Himalayas  and  if  you 
met  him  on  the  Avenue  he'd  merely  nod  and  pass 
on  trying  to  remember  who  the  devil  you  were.  But 
I  renew  my  sacred  promise  to  take  care  of  you ;  you 
may  rely  on  me,  Archie.  Now  as  always  we  invite 
the  most  searching  scrutiny !  If  you  see  any  old 
friends  I  beg  of  you  do  not  attempt  to  dodge  them ; 
shake  one  and  all  heartily  by  the  hand.  We'll  pre 
tend  that  our  black  wool  is  as  white  as  the  drifted 
snow,  and  no  one  will  run  after  us  shouting,  '  Black- 
sheep,  blacksheep !  ' 


As  the  train  flew  along  the  Connecticut  shore  Archie 
realized  with  a  new  poignancy  the  tremendous  change 
that  had  occurred  in  his  life  since  he  left  New  York, 
his  birthplace  and  the  home  of  his  family  for  two  hun 
dred  years.  Instead  of  lounging  in  clubs  and  his 
luxurious  apartment  he  would  now  go  skulking 
through  the  streets  with  a  master  crook,  and  his 
imagination  was  already  intent  upon  the  character 
of  the  lair  to  which  the  Governor  would  guide  him. 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      149 

He  still  swayed  between  the  joys  of  his  mad  adven 
ture  and  its  perils.  He  might,  he  knew,  bid  the 
Governor  good-by  at  the  Grand  Central  Station, 
step  into  a  taxi  and  walk  into  the  door  of  one  or 
another  of  his  clubs  and  bid  the  world  defiance.  The 
serenity  of  his  life  as  known  to  his  friends  would  be 
a  sufficient  refutation  of  any  charge  that  might  be 
made  against  him.  No  one  would  believe  the  mys 
terious  Governor  if  he  were  to  declare  on  oath  that 
Archibald  Bennett  was  a  criminal  who  had  left  a 
scarlet  trail  across  three  states. 

It  would  be  an  interesting  experiment  to  defy  the 
Governor;  but  he  dismissed  this  as  foolish  and  haz 
ardous.  The  Governor  had  a  long  arm,  and  having 
trifled  with  his  good  nature  at  the  Walkers'  it  would 
certainly  be  ungracious  and  in  all  likelihood  disas 
trous  to  offend  him  a  second  time.  But  the  Gov 
ernor's  fantastic  talk  about  the  joining  of  their  stars 
in  the  west  had  touched  his  imagination.  With  all 
his  absurdities,  and  strange  and  unaccountable  as 
he  was,  the  Governor  did  make  good  his  promises. 
If  he  wasn't  in  league  with  occult  powers  he  at  least 
possessed  a  baffling  sort  of  prescience;  and  what 
was  more  to  the  point  he  had  apparently  reduced  to 
a  fine  art  the  business  of  keeping  clear  of  the  author 
ities.  If  he  could  escape  from  the  Governor  it  would 
be  to  take  up  his  old  eventless  life,  with  a  recrudes 
cence  no  doubt  of  the  ills  that  had  so  long  beset 
him;  and  he  had  utterly  forgotten  that  he  had  ever 
been  an  invalid.  He  grinned  as  he  reflected  that 
he  had  been  obliged  to  shoot  a  man  to  find  a  cure 
for  his  nerves. 

As  the  train  drew  out  of  New  Haven  the  Governor, 
seemingly  absorbed  in  a  magazine,  covertly  kicked 


150  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

him.  A  man  passed  slowly  through  the  car,  care 
lessly  eyeing  the  passengers.  When  he  reached 
Archie's  chair  he  paused  as  though  steadying  himself 
against  the  swaying  train.  For  a  moment  he  clung 
to  the  back  of  the  Governor's  chair,  which  was  turned 
toward  the  window,  and  his  eyes  surveyed  the  lug 
gage  piled  under  the  windows.  The  Governor  swung 
round  presently  and  remarked  indifferently  without 
changing  his  position : 

"  Rawlings,  the  best  man  they  have  in  the  Depart 
ment  now.  He's  looking  for  some  one  but  let  us 
hope  it's  not  us.  A  very  keen  eye  has  Rawlings. 
Not  one  of  these  sleuths  in  a  black  derby  and  false 
mustache  you  see  in  the  movies,  but  a  gentleman 
and  a  man  of  education.  He's  probably  looking 
for  that  teller  who  cut  a  slice  out  of  the  surplus  of  a 
Massachusetts  bank  last  week.  It's  not  our  trouble, 
Archie.  Embezzlers  and  defaulters  are  not  to  my 
taste;  we  rather  look  down  on  that  breed  in  the 
brotherhood.  A  low  order  of  talent;  no  brains; 
they're  not  in  our  class." 

"But  it  isn't  necessary  to  advertise  our  sins  to  the 
whole  train!"  whispered  Archie,  eyeing  apprehen 
sively  their  nearest  neighbors  in  the  crowded  car. 
"You  haven't  convinced  me  yet  that  we're  not  mak 
ing  a  serious  blunder." 

"Cease  grumbling!  If  we  wanted  to  play  safe 
we'd  both  enter  some  home  for  aged  and  decrepit 
men  and  sit  among  the  halt  and  blind  and  toothless 
until  we  became  even  as  they.  Rawlings'  defaulter 
is  encumbered,  most  disgracefully,  with  the  usual 
blonde,  in  this  case  the  lily-handed  cashier  in  a  mo 
tion  picture  shop  ;  and  a  man  of  Rawlings'  intelligence 
would  know  at  a  glance  that  we  are  not  villains  of  that 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      151 

breed.  I  haven't  traveled  by  this  route  for  some  time 
and  I  mean  to  keep  awake  to  enjoy  the  pleasant  view. 
My  historical  sense  is  always  tickled  as  I  cut  across 
Rhode  Island  and  contemplate  the  state  house  at 
Providence.  If  we  were  not  really  upon  business 
bent  we  might  have  run  down  to  Narragansett  Pier 
or  even  to  Newport  for  a  breath  of  air.  Newport ! 
Newport  is  adorable !  I  am  far  from  being  a  snob, 
Archie,  but  Newport  is  really  the  loveliest  place  in 
America.  I  grant  you  that  Bar  Harbor  has  its  points 
and  even  Bailey  Harbor  is  not  so  bad  —  do  pardon 
me,  Archie !  I  forgot  for  the  moment  your  unhappy 
memories  of  that  place  —  but  Newport  alone  is  per 
fection  gone  to  heaven !  It  would  please  me  enor 
mously  to  join  you  in  a  little  excursion  to  Newport, 
by  yacht  preferably;  but  if  it  leaked  out  that  we 
had  been  flying  so  high  it  would  injure  us  with  the 
simple-hearted  comrades  of  the  great  brotherhood. 
You  can  imagine  what  a  man  like  Red  Leary  would 
say  if  he  knew  we  were  dining  at  tables  where  the 
jewels  run  into  millions.  And  your  young  friend 
Abijah,  alias  Pete  Barney,  would  certainly  cut  our 
acquaintance  if  we  failed  to  take  advantage  of  such 
glorious  opportunities." 

"How  are  you  going  to  know  whether  we're 
watched  ? "  asked  Archie  in  a  frightened  whisper 
when  "Forty-second  Street"  flashed  at  him  from 
the  wall  of  the  tunnel. 

"In  a  few  minutes  we'll  know  the  worst,"  replied 
the  Governor  blandly.  "I  beg  of  you  be  confident, 
be  assured,  be  cheerful!" 

At  the  station  gates  a  man  in  gray  livery  stepped 
up  and  touched  his  cap  to  the  Governor. 

"Ah,  Tom;  glad  to  see  you  again!" 


152  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"Thank  you,  sir;  is  this  all  the  luggage?" 

"That's  all,  Tom.  Have  an  eye  to  Mr.  Comly's 
bag;  he's  stopping  with  me." 

Archie  dragged  himself  into  a  handsome  limousine 
that  was  brought  to  the  curb  by  a  chauffeur  as  im 
peccably  tailored  as  the  footman. 

"Well,  George,  how  are  things  with  you  ?"  asked 
the  Governor  pleasantly. 

Very  good,  sir;  things  running  very  smoothly, 


sir." 


"Drive  directly  home,  please. 

"We  may  wander  to  our  hearts'  content,  Archie, 
but  there's  no  place  like  home,  particularly  when 
it's  little  old  New  York,"  remarked  the  Governor, 
sinking  back  contentedly. 


CHAPTER  FOUR 


THE  car  crossed  to  the  Avenue  and  bore  north. 
Archie  was  again  left  high  in  air.  He  had  expected 
to  be  piloted  by  circuitous  routes  to  some  vile  thieves' 
den  in  the  intricate  mazes  of  the  East  Side,  but  the 
car  and  the  smartly  appareled  men  encouraged  the 
hope  of  a  very  different  destination.  The  Governor, 
evidently  enjoying  his  companion's  befuddlement, 
talked  of  the  changes  that  had  taken  place  in  the 
upper  city  in  his  memory.  His  reminiscences  did  not 
interest  Archie  greatly.  He  thought  it  likely  the 
Governor  was  uttering  commonplaces  for  the  benefit 
of  the  men  on  the  box,  who  could  easily  hear  their 
passengers'  conversation  through  the  partition  win 
dows.  The  car  passed  two  clubs  in  which  Archie 
was  a  member  in  good  standing  and  he  caught  a 
fleeting  glimpse  down  an  intersecting  thoroughfare 
of  the  apartment  house  in  which  he  was  a  tenant  with 
a  recurrence  of  the  disagreeable  questionings  he  had 
experienced  so  frequently  as  to  whether  he  was  him 
self  or  some  other  and  very  different  person. 

The  Governor  had  not  warned  him  to  avoid  mark 
ing  the  route,  which  was  as  familiar  to  Archie  as  the 
palm  of  his  hand,  but  somewhere  in  the  Seventies 
he  did  for  a  moment  lose  track  o/  the  streets,  and  the 
car,  swinging  east,  stopped  midway  of  a  block  of 

153 


154      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

handsome  residences.  There  was  still  the  chance 
that  this  was  all  by-play,  a  trick  for  concealing  their 
arrival  in  town ;  but  the  footman  was  already  ring 
ing  the  bell  of  a  house  whose  facade  was  the  most 
distinguished  in  sight.  The  door  was  opened  by  a 
manservant,  whose  face  expressed  pleasure  as  the 
Governor  passed  him  with  all  the  airs  of  incontestable 
proprietorship. 

"I  think  we  may  as  well  go  at  once  to  our  rooms," 
he  said.  "You  understand,  Baring,  that  we  dine 
at  seven-thirty  —  places  for  three  ?" 

"Very  good,  sir:  I  received  your  telegram/' 

Amid  the  various  phases  of  surprise  through 
which  he  had  passed  since  reaching  the  station 
Archie  had  kept  his  ears  open,  thinking  the  servants 
would  address  their  employer  by  a  name,  but  no 
such  clue  was  forthcoming.  The  house  exhaled  an 
atmosphere  of  luxury  and  taste,  and  the  furnishings 
were  rich  and  consistently  chosen.  Archie  recalled 
twenty  houses  in  which  he  was  frequently  a  guest 
that  in  nowise  approached  the  Governor's  estab 
lishment  for  comfort  and  charm.  If  he  had  been 
puzzled  before  he  was  stupefied  now.  The  enormous 
effrontery  of  the  thing  overwhelmed  him.  He 
knew  the  general  neighborhood  too  well  not  to  be 
sure  that  it  was  not  a  region  where  a  housebreaker 
of  even  the  most  exalted  rank  could  live  unchallenged. 
To  be  sure  this  was  summer,  and  most  of  the  houses 
along  the  street  were  boarded  up ;  but  the  Governor 
would  certainly  not  be  invading  in  broad  daylight 
premises  to  which  he  had  no  claim,  and  the  retinue 
of  trained  and  decorous  servants  disposed  effectually 
of  any  such  speculations. 

On  the  second  floor  the  Governor  lingered  in  the 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      155 

drawing-room  to  call  his  guest's  attention  to  some 
pictures,  contemporary  American  work,  which  Archie 
recognized  instantly.  Indeed  he  knew  several  of 
the  painters  very  well. 

"We  must  encourage  our  own  artists,"  remarked 
the  Governor.  "It's  the  only  way  we  shall  ever 
develop  an  American  art." 

Continuing  up  another  flight  (there  was  an  elevator, 
the  Governor  explained,  but  he  preferred  the  stairs) 
Archie  surveyed  approvingly  a  lounging  room,  half 
library  and  half  office. 

"If  you  have  a  taste  for  old  leather  there's  stuff 
here  that  will  please  you.  No  rubbish,  you  see ;  a 
man's  room,  a  little  quaint  as  to  furniture,  and  the 
telephone  and  electric  fan  are  the  only  anachronisms, 
a  concession  to  the  spirit  of  modern  life.  Here  I 
have  worked  out  some  most  abstruse  problems  in 
astrology.  A  capital  place  to  ponder  the  mysteries. 
If  anything  on  that  tray  interests  you,  help  yourself." 

Archie  tottered  toward  the  stand  on  which  de 
canters,  syphons,  and  a  silver  bowl  of  ice  had  been 
placed.  He  helped  himself  generously  to  Scotch; 
the  Governor  contented  himself  with  a  glass  of 
mineral  water  —  he  never  took  anything  else,  he 
explained. 

"Odd,  but  I've  never  used  the  stuff  at  all.  Bless 
you,  no  fanatical  notions  on  the  subject !  If  you 
don't  see  what  you  like  there  just  press  a  button 
and  it  will  probably  be  found  for  you.  And  now, 
my  dear  Archie"  —  he  closed  the  door  and  turned 
on  the  fan  —  "you  are  my  guest,  in  every  sense  my 
guest.  You  wouldn't  be  human  if  you  didn't  wonder 
about  me  rather  more  than  at  any  time  since  we 
first  met;  you  had  not  the  slightest  idea  that  I 


156  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

should  bring  you  to  so  decent  a  shack  as  this.  It 
may  have  occurred  to  you  that  I  may  be  an  inter 
loper  here,  but  such  is  not  the  case.  I  own  this 
house  and  the  ground  it  stands  on  and  everything 
in  it.  You  are,  of  course,  not  a  prisoner ;  not  in  any 
sense,  and  there's  a  telephone  in  your  room  —  you 
shall  see  in  a  moment  —  by  which  you  can  talk  to 
all  the  world  quite  freely,  —  no  restrictions  whatso 
ever. 

"My  name  is  not  Saulsbury,  of  course,  but  some 
thing  quite  different.  The  servants  in  this  house 
do  not  know  my  true  name.  They  might,  of  course, 
work  it  out,  for  I  pay  taxes  here,  and  my  family 
history  is  spread  in  the  public  records,  but  the  people 
you  see  about  here  are  trained  to  curb  their  curiosity ; 
I  trust  them  just  as  I  trust  you.  They  are  all  from 
under  the.  crust,  —  the  man  who  met  us  at  the 
station  is  a  daring  housebreaker;  the  chauffeur  a 
second-story  man,  the  only  one  I  ever  knew  who 
had  the  slightest  judgment ;  the  butler  is  a  hotel 
thief,  and  a  shrewd  operator  until  he  got  too  corpu 
lent  for  transom  work.  Down  to  the  scullery  maid, 
who  was  a  clever  shoplifter,  all  the  servants  are 
crooks  I've  picked  up  and  installed  here  until  they 
can  do  what  Leary's  doing,  invest  their  ill-gotten 
gains  in  some  legitimate  business.  When  Baring 
offers  you  the  asparagus  or  serves  your  coffee  you 
may  derive  a  thrill  from  the  knowledge  that  the  man 
at  your  elbow  has  enough  rewards  hanging  over  him 
to  make  any  one  rich  who  can  telephone  his  where 
abouts  to  police  headquarters  in  any  town  in  America. 
As  all  branches  of  the  profession  are  represented 
here  my  retainers  repay  my  hospitality  by  keeping 
me  in  touch  with  their  comrades  everywhere." 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      157 

Archie  wiped  the  perspiration  from  his  face  and 
groped  for  the  decanter. 

"You're  not  afraid  —  not  afraid  of  them!" 

"Ingratitude,  my  dear  Archie,  is  reserved  for 
the  highbrow  moralist ;  I  trust  these  people  with 
my  life  and  liberty,  and  they  know  I'll  not  only 
protect  them  but  that  my  facilities  for  shielding 
them  and  assisting  in  the  liquidation  of  their  loot  is 
theirs  to  command.  While  they  are  here  their  lives 
are  wholly  circumspect,  though  they  are  not  with 
out  their  temptations.  With  a  place  like  this. to 
operate  from  they  could  raid  this  whole  block  and 
back  vans  up  to  my  door  and  cart  it  away.  Officious 
caretakers  and  hidden  wires  connected  with  de 
tective  agencies  would  only  stimulate  their  wits. 
But  nothing  doing,  Archie !  A  policeman  on  this 
beat  suggested  to  Baring,  over  a  bottle  of  beer  in  the 
basement,  the  lifting  of  plate  in  a  house  round  the 
corner,  but  what  did  Baring  do  but  show  the  fellow 
the  door !  And  yet  Baring  has  stolen  thousands  of 
dollars'  worth  of  stuff  of  all  kinds  and  has  it  well 
planted  waiting  for  me  to  turn  it  into  cash.  By  the 
way,  you  saw  the  chap  who  brought  in  the  tray  ? 
You  probably  noticed  his  melancholy  air  ?  I  had 
just  told  him  of  Hoky's  death  and  he's  all  broken  up. 
He  and  Hoky  ranged  the  Missouri  River  towns  a 
few  years  ago  and  the  police  out  there  are  still  try 
ing  to  explain  their  plunderings." 

"I  suppose,  I  suppose,"  Archie  timidly  ventured, 
"you've told  them  about  me?" 

"Not  a  word !  They'd  be  jealous :  wouldn't 
understand  how  I  made  you  a  guest  when  all  the 
rest  of  'em  have  to  work  for  a  living.  You  will  act 
exactly  as  though  you  were  a  visitor  in  the  house 


I5S      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

of  an  old  friend.  And  now  I  must  go  through  this 
mail  —  I've  got  a  chap  who  collects  my  stuff  from 
some  of  the  unofficial  post-offices  up-state  and  here 
it  is  all  ready  for  inspection.  The  first  room  to  the 
right  is  yours. 

"A  few  pretty  good  pastels  stuck  around  here," 
he  continued,  opening  a  door.  "That  'Moonrise 
on  the  Grand  Lagoon'  is  rather  well  done.  Every 
thing  seems  to  be  in  order ;  if  you  want  your  clothes 
pressed  poke  the  button  twice." 

Archie  snapped  his  fingers  impatiently.  When  he 
went  to  Washington  to  say  good-by  to  his  sister 
he  nad  ordered  a  trunk  packed  with  the  major 
portion  of  his  wardrobe  and  held  for  orders.  How 
to  possess  himself  of  the  trunk  without  disclosing 
his  presence  in  town  to  the  valet  of  the  Dowden 
Apartments  was  beyond  his  powers. 

"If  you  have  something  tucked  away  that  you'd 
like  to  get  hold  of  — "  suggested  the  Governor  with 
one  of  his  intuitive  flashes. 

"  It's  a  trunk  at  my  —  er  —  lodgings.  A  man  who 
works  there  packed  it  for  me  — " 

"Why  don't  you  come  out  with  it  and  say  that 
the  syndicate  valet  in  one  of  these  palatial  bachelor 
chambers  somewhere  uptown  packed  it  for  you  ? 
I  can  tell  a  man  who's  been  valeted  as  far  as  my 
eyes  will  reach.  Now  I  have  no  curiosity  what 
ever  about  your  personal  identity  or  affairs  of  any 
sort,  as  I've  told  you  before.  Ill  ring  for  my  own 
valet,  who  was  an  honest  tailor  before  he  became  a 
successful  second-story  worker,  and  you  may  con 
fide  your  predicament  to  him.  He'll  ride  home 
on  the  trunk.  There  was  never  yet  a  valet  who 
wouldn't  steal  the  trousers  off  a  bronze  statue,  and 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  159 

I'll  lift  the  Ban  on  crooked  work  here  long  enough 
for  Timmons  to  call  at  your  lodgings  and  either 
by  violence  or  corruption  secure  your  trunk.  No ! 
Not  a  cent.  Remember  that  you  are  my  guest." 

The  trunk  was  in  Archie's  room  in  just  one  hour. 
Timmons,  who  had  received  his  instructions  without 
the  slightest  emotion,  gravely  unpacked  it. 

"You've  got  to  admit  the  service  in  this  house  is 
excellent.  If  you  don't  mind  we'll  dress  for  dinner," 
remarked  the  Governor  lounging  in  the  doorway. 
"I  forgot  to  say  that  there's  a  lady  dining  with 


us—" 


"Alady  ["demanded  Archie  with  a  frown.  He  had 
assumed,  when  the  Governor  reminded  Baring  that 
dinner  was  to  be  served  for  three,  that  he  was  to  be  in 
troduced  to  some  prominent  member  of  what  the 
Governor  was  fond  of  calling  the  great  fraternity. 
But  the  threatened  projection  of  a  woman  into  the 
household  struck  Archie  unfavorably.  The  Gov 
ernor's  tale  of  his  love  affair  with  a  bishop's  daughter 
he  had  discounted  heavily;  it  was  hardly  possible 
that  any  respectable  woman  would  dine  in  the  house. 
The  Governor,  with  his  usual  quick  perception, 
noted  his  companion's  displeasure. 

"Your  qualms  and  your  concern  for  the  pro 
prieties  are  creditable  to  your  up-bringing.  But 
how  ungenerous  of  you  to  suspect  me  of  wishing 
to  mix  you  up  with  anything  even  remotely  border 
ing  upon  an  intrigue,  a  vulgar  liaison !  One  thing 
I  am  not,  my  boy;  one  thing  I  may,  with  a  degree 
of  assurance,  say  for  myself,  and  that  is  that  with  all 
my  sins  I  am  not  vulgar  1" 

"Of  course  I  didn't  mean  that,"  said  Archie 
clumsily,  knowing  that  this  was  exactly  what  he 


160  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

had  meant.  "But  I  thought  you  might  be — er — 
more  comfortable  if  I  didn't  appear." 

"The  suspicion  had  sunk  deep !  But  once  more 
I  shall  forgive  you.  Your  presence  will  help  me 
tide  over  a  difficult  situation.  I  am  not  only  show 
ing  you  once  more  the  depth  of  my  confidence  and 
trust  but,  more  than  that,  I  pay  you  the  compli 
ment  of  asking  your  assistance.  You  bear  yourself 
so  like  a  gentleman  that  your  presence  at  my  table 
can  hardly  fail  to  reassure  the  lady  and  contribute 
to  her  own  ease  and  peace  of  mind.  And  with 
out  you  we  might  quarrel  horribly.  You  will 
act  as  a  buffer,  a  restraining  influence ;  your  charm 
ing  manners  will  mitigate  the  violence  of  her 
resentment  against  me.  The  lady — " 

Archie  waited  for  what  further  he  might  have  to 
say  about  the  lady.  The  Governor  had  grown 
suddenly  grave.  He  crossed  the  room,  stared  at 
the  floor  for  a  moment,  and  then  said  from  the  door  : 

"The  lady,  my  dear  boy,  is  my  sister." 


II 

The  Governor  maintained  so  evenly  his  mood 
of  irresponsible  insouciance  that  the  soberness  with 
which  he  announced  that  it  was  his  sister  who  was 
to  join  them  at  dinner  sent  Archie's  thoughts  dart 
ing  away  at  a  new  tangent  of  speculation.  He 
had  so  accommodated  himself  to  the  idea  that  the 
Governor  was  a  man  without  ties,  or  with  all  his 
ties  broken,  that  this  intimation  that  he  had  a  sister 
who  was  still  on  friendly  enough  terms  with  him  to 
visit  his  house  —  an  establishment  which  with  all 
its  conventionalities  of  comfort  and  luxury  was 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      l6l 

dominated  by  a  note  of  mystery  —  left  Archie 
floundering.  As  the  man  himself  had  said,  it 
would  not  be  so  difficult  a  matter  to  penetrate  the 
secret  of  his  identity.  Archie  knew  several  men 
in  town  who  were  veritable  encyclopedias  of  the 
scandal  of  three  generations,  and  if  the  scion  of 
some  old  New  York  house  had  gone  astray  these 
gentlemen  could  furnish  all  the  essential  data.  But 
he  had  given  his  word  and  he  had  no  intention  of 
prying  into  his  friend's  affairs.  However,  the  sister 
might  let  fall  some  clue,  and  as  he  dressed  he  tried 
to  imagine  just  what  sort  of  woman  the  Governor's 
sister  would  prove  to  be. 

"Julia  is  usually  very  prompt  but  she  is  motor 
ing  from  Southampton  and  we  must  allow  her  the 
us'ual  margin,"  the  Governor  remarked  when  they 
met  in  the  drawing-room.  Traces  of  the  same 
nervousness  he  had  manifested  in  announcing  that 
it  was  his  sister  who  was  coming  to  dine  with  them 
were  still  visible. 

The  clock  had  struck  the  three-quarters  when 
they  heard  the  annunciator  tinkle  followed  by  the 
opening  of  the  front  door.  The  Governor  left  the 
room  with  a  bound  and  Archie  heard  distinctly 
his  hearty  greetings  and  a  woman's  subdued  replies. 

"I'm  sorry  to  be  late,  but  we  had  to  change  a 
tire.  No,  I'll  leave  my  wraps  here." 

"Won't  you  be  more  comfortable  without  your 
hat?" 

"No,  I'll  keep  it;   thanks!" 

The  door  framed  for  a  moment  a  young  woman 
who  in  her  instant's  pause  on  the  threshold  seemed 
like  a  portrait  figure  suddenly  come  to  life.  She 
was  taller  than  the  Governor  and  carried  herself 


162  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

with  a  suggestion  of  his  authoritative  bearing.  Her 
face  was  a  feminized  version  of  the  Governor's,  ex 
quisitely  modeled  and  illuminated  by  dark  eyes  that 
swept  Archie  with  a  hasty  inquiry  from  under  the 
brim  of  a  black  picture  hat.  She  might  have  been 
younger  or  older  than  the  Governor,  but  her  matur 
ity  was  not  an  affair  of  years.  She  was  a  person  of 
distinction,  a  woman  to  challenge  attention  in  any 
company.  Archie  was  not  sure  whether  she  had 
been  warned  of  a  stranger's  presence  in  the  house, 
but  if  she  was  surprised  to  find  him  there  she  made 
no  sign. 

As  Archie  advanced  to  meet  them  he  moved 
slowly,  and  unconsciously  drew  himself  up,  as 
though  preparing  to  meet  a  personage  who  com 
pelled  homage  and  was  not  to  be  approached  with 
out  a  degree  of  ceremony.  She  was  entirely  in 
black  save  for  the  roses  in  her  hat.  She  might 
have  retained  the  hat,  he  thought,  for  the  sake  of 
its  shadow  on  her  face;  or  from  a  sense  that  it  em 
phasized  the  formal  and  transitory  nature  of  her  visit. 

"Julia,  this  is  my  friend,  Mr.  Comly." 

Her  "very  glad,  I'm  sure,"  was  uttered  with  res 
ervations,  but  she  smiled,  a  quick  sad  little  smile. 

The  Governor  had  introduced  her  as  Julia,  care 
lessly,  as  though  of  course  Archie  knew  the  rest 
of  it.  The  whole  business  was  as  utterly  unreal 
as  anything  could  be.  The  Governor  asked  per 
functorily  about  her  drive  into  town,  and  whether 
it  had  been  hot  in  the  country.  Dinner  was  an 
nounced  immediately  and  they  sat  down  at  a 
round  table  whose  centerpiece  of  sweet  peas  brought 
a  coolness  into  the  room. 

The  dinner  was  served  with  a  deliberation  befitting 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      163 

the  end  of  a  summer  day.  Julia  was  the  most  tran 
quil  of  the  trio  and  it  was  in  Archie's  mind  that  she 
was  capable  of  dominating  even  more  difficult  situ 
ations.  She  was  studying  him  - —  he  was  conscious 
of  that  —  and  it  was  clear  that  she  was  not  rinding 
it  easy  to  appraise  and  place  him.  The  Governor 
had  given  him  no  hint  of  the  possible  trend  of  the 
table  talk  but  the  woman  took  the  matter  into  her 
own  hands.  As  though  by  prearrangement  she 
touched  upon  wholly  impersonal  matters,  recent 
movements  in  European  affairs,  a  new  novel,  the  in 
dustrial  situation ;'  things  that  could  be  broached 
without  fear  of  embarrassment  were  picked  up  and 
flung  aside  when  they  had  served  their  purpose.  The 
Governor  was  often  inattentive,  the  most  uncom 
fortable  member  of  the  trio.  It  seemed  to  Archie  as 
he  met  a  puzzled  look  in  Julia's  eyes  from  time  to 
time  that  she  was  still  trying  to  account  for  him,  and 
her  manner  he  thought  slowly  changed.  Her  first 
defensive  hostility  yielded  to  something  much  more 
amiable.  It  was  as  though  she  had  reached  a  deci 
sion  not  wholly  unflattering  and  might  be  a  little 
sorry  for  her  earlier  attitude. 

The  Governor  roused  himself  presently  at  the 
mention  of  a  new  book  of  verse  she  had  praised, 
and  threw  himself  into  the  talk  thereafter  with  char 
acteristic  spirit  and  humor. 

"Mr.  Comly  shares  my  affection  for  the  poets. 
He  has  been  a  great  resource  to  me,  Julia.  I'm 
sure  you'd  be  grateful  to  him  if  you  knew  the  ex 
tent  of  his  kindnesses.  A  new  friend,  but  it's  not 
always  the  old  ones,  you  know — " 

"My  brother  is  hard  to  please,"  said  Julia.  "You 
score  high  in  meeting  his  exacting  requirements." 


1 64  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

A  slight  smile  dulled  the  irony  of  this,  but  the 
Governor,  evidently  concerned  for  the  maintenance 
of  amity,  introduced  the  art  of  the  Aztecs,  to  which 
he  brought  his  usual  enthusiasm. 

The  Aztecs  carried  them  back  to  the  drawing- 
room,  where  Archie,  feeling  that  the  Governor 
and  his  sister  probably  had  personal  affairs  to  talk 
about,  lounged  toward  the  door;  but  the  Governor 
was  quick  to  detect  his  purpose. 

"Julia,  if  you  brought  those  documents  with 
you  I'll  take  them  up  to  my  room  and  look  them 
over.  It's  only  a  matter  of  my  signature,  isn't  it  ? 
You  and  Mr.  Comly  can  give  the  final  twist  to 
prehistoric  art.  I'll  be  down  at  once." 

"Very  well;  you  will  find  them  in  my  bag  in  the 
hall.  I  must  start  home  very  soon,  you  know." 

"I  had  hoped  you  would  spend  the  night  here," 
said  the  Governor;  "but  if  you  won't  I'm  grateful 
even  for  this  little  glimpse." 

If  Julia  was  displeased  by  the  Governor's  very 
evident  intention  not  to  be  left  alone  with  her  she 
was  at  pains  to  conceal  the  feeling.  Archie  turned 
toward  her  inquiringly,  but  he  met  a  look  of  acqui 
escence  that  carried  also  an  appeal  as  though  she 
wished  him  not  to  interfere. 

The  Governor  left  the  room  and  reappeared  with 
a  small  satchel,  took  out  several  bundles  of  legal 
papers  and  glanced  at  their  superscriptions. 

"Those  are  chiefly  deeds  and  leases,"  Julia  re 
marked  carelessly.  "They're  all  ready  to  Designed 
by  the  trustees.  There  are  forms  for  our  approval 
attached  to  all  of  them  and  you'll  find  that  I've 
signed." 

The  Governor   shrugged  his  shoulders  as  though 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      165 

business  matters  were  not  to  his  taste  and  in  a 
moment  they  heard  his  quick  step  on  the  stair. 

The  novelty  of  the  situation  that  left  Archie  alone 
with  a  woman  whose  very  name  he  did  not  know 
was  enhanced  by  the  sumptuousness  of  the  back 
ground  furnished  by  the  house  itself.  It  was  the 
oddest  possible  place  for  such  an  adventure.  Julia 
sat  with  one  arm  flung  along  the  back  of  a  low  chair. 
She  fell  naturally  into  poses  that  suggested  portraits ; 
there  were  painters  who  would  have  jumped  at  the 
chance  of  sketching  her  as  she  sat  there  with  the  spot 
of  red  in  the  big  hat  and  the  shadowed  face  and 
the  white  of  her  throat  and  arms  relieving  the  long 
black  line. 

"It  is  no  doubt  clear  to  you,"  she  remarked 
without  altering  her  position  and  with  no  lower 
ing  of  the  habitual  tone  of  her  speech,  "that  my 
brother  prefers  not  to  be  alone  with  me." 

"I  rather  surmised  that,"  Archie  replied  with 
an  ease  he  did  not  feel.  She  might  ask  questions ; 
it  might  be  that  she  would  cross-examine  him  as  to 
the  Governor's  recent  movements.  He  turned  to 
drop  his  cigarette  into  the  brass  receiver  at  his  elbow 
to  avoid  contact  with  her  gaze,  which  was  bent  upon 
him  disconcertingly. 

"We  have  but  a  moment,  and  we  must  have  a 
care  not  to  seem  to  be  confidential.  He  didn't 
close  his  door,  I  think." 

The  draperies  at  the  end  of  the  room  swayed 
a  little  and  Archie  walked  back  and  glanced  into 
the  dining-room.  He  nodded  reassuringly  and 
she  indicated  a  seat  a  little  nearer  than  the  one  he 
had  left. 
\  "Please  don't  be  alarmed,  but  it's  a  singular 


1 66  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

fact  that  I  know  you;  we  met  once,  passingly, 
at  a  tea  in  Cambridge;  it's  a  good  while  ago  and 
we  exchanged  only  a  word,  so  don't  try  to  re 
member.  I  much  prefer  that  you  shouldn't.'* 
Archie  didn't  remember;  he  had  attended  many 
teas  at  Cambridge  during  commencement  festivi 
ties  and  had  always  hated  them.  "It  was  not 
until  we  were  at  the  table  that  I  placed  you  tonight. 
I'm  telling  you  this,"  she  went  on,  "not  to  dis 
turb  you  but  to  let  you  know  that  I'm  relieved, 
infinitely  relieved  to  know  that  you  are  with  my 
brother.  How  it  came  about  is  none  of  my  affair. 
But  you  are  a  gentleman ;  in  the  strange  phase 
through  which"  —  her  lips  formed  to  speak  a 
name  but  she  caught  herself  up  sharply  —  "through 
which  he  is  passing  I'm  gratified  that  he  has  your 
companionship.  I  want  you  to  promise  to  be 
kind  to  him,  and  to  protect  him  so  far  as  possible. 
I  only  know  vaguely  —  I  am  afraid  to  surmise  — 
how  he  spends  his  time;  this  is  my  first  glimpse 
of  him  in  a  year,  and  for  half  a  dozen  years  I  have 
met  him  only  in  some  such  way  as  this.  You  have 
probably  questioned  his  sanicy;  that  would  be 
only  natural,  but  there  is  no  such  excuse  for  him. 
Once  something  very  cruel  happened  to  him ;  some 
thing  that  greatly  embittered  him,  a  very  cruel, 
hard  thing,  indeed ;  and  after  the  first  shock  of  it  — " 
She  turned  her  head  slightly  and  her  lips  quivered. 

"That  is  all,"  she  said,  and  faced  him  again  with 
her  beautiful  repose  accentuated,  her  perfect  self- 
control  that  touched  him  with  an  infinite  pity. 
She  was  superb,  and  he  had  listened  with  a  shame 
deepened  by  the  consciousness  that,  remembering 
him  from  a  chance  meeting,  she  attributed  to  him 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  167 

an  honor  and  decency  he  had  relinquished,  it  seemed 
to  him,  in  some  state  of  existence  before  the  dawn 
of  time.  What  she  knew  or  did  not  know  about 
her  ^brother  was  not  of  importance;  it  was  the 
assumption  that  he  was  capable  of  exercising  an 
influence  upon  the  man,  protecting  and  saving 
him  from  himself  that  hurt,  hurt  with  all  the  poignancy 
of  physical  pain.  She  did  not  dream  that  she  had 
got  the  whole  thing  upside-down ;  that  if  the  Gov 
ernor  was  a  social  pariah  he  himself  was  no  whit 
better,  and  had  thrown  himself  upon  the  Governor's 
mercy. 

"I  shall  do  wThat  I  can,"  he  said.  "You  can  see 
that  I  am  very  fond  of  him ;  he  has  been  enormously 
kind  to  me." 

She  gave  little  heed  to  this,  though  she  nodded 
her  head  slowly  as  though  she  had  counted  upon 
his  promise. 

"You  probably  know  that  with  all  his  oddities 
and  whimsicalities  he  has  some  theory  of  life  that 
doesn't  belong  to  our  day.  It  may  help  you  to 
know  that  there's  a  crisis  approaching  in  his  affairs. 
He  has  hinted  at  it  for  several  years ;  it's  a  part 
of  the  mystery  in  which  he  wraps  himself;  but  I 
never  know  quite  how  to  take  him.  He  wears  a 
smiling  mask.  Please  understand  that  it  is  because 
I  love  him  so  much  that  I  am  saying  these  things 
to  you ;  that  and  because  I  know  I  can  trust  you. 
You  are  remaining  with  him,  I  hope  — " 

"Yes;   we  plan  to  be  together  for  some  time." 

"If  anything  should  happen  to  him  I  should  like 
to  know."  She  paused  a  moment.  "It  was  dis 
tinctly  understood  between  us  when  he  called  me 
by  telephone  this  morning  that  I  was  not  to  hint 


168  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

in  any  way  as  to  his  identity,  or  mine  for  that 
matter,  and  I  shall  not  break  faith  with  him.  He 
would  be  greatly  displeased  if  he  knew  what  I  have 
said  to  you;  but  I  resolved  after  I  had  been  in  the 
house  half  an  hour  that  I  could  count  on  your  aid. 
We  have  but  a  moment  more." 

She  mused  a  moment  and  then  with  quick  decision 
stepped  to  a  writing  table,  snatched  a  sheet  of  paper 
and  wrote  rapidly,  while  he  filled  in  the  interval  by 
talking  of  irrelevant  things  to  guard  against  the 
chance  that  the  Governor  might  be  on  his  way 
down  and  would  note  their  silence. 

She  thrust  the  sheet  into  an  envelope  and  sealed  it. 

"I  trust  you  completely,"  she  said,  lingering  with 
a  smile  upon  the  last  word.  "I  shall  be  at  that 
address  until  the  first  of  October.  You  can  wire 
me  in  any  emergency." 

When  the  Governor  reappeared  they  were  seem 
ingly  in  the  midst  of  a  leisurely  discussion  of  the 
drama. 

"Back  into  the  bag  they  go,"  said  the  Governor. 
"Everything's  all  right,  Julia.  I  checked  up  the 
items  with  my  inventory  and  am  entirely  satisfied. 
Fm  delighted  that  you  two  get  on  so  well  together; 
but  I  knew  you  would  hit  it  off.  Mr.  Comly  has 
been  most  kind  and  considerate,  Julia.  In  my 
long  pilgrimage  I  have  never  before  met  a  man  so 
much  to  my  taste.  The  Wandering  Jew  and  the 
Flying  Dutchman  had  no  such  luck.  Sweet  it  is  to 
wander  with  a  good  comrade,  taking  no  care  for  the 
morrow,  but  letting  every  day  suffice  unto  itself." 

He  walked  to  a  grand  piano  at  the  end  of  the 
room,  sat  down  and  began  to  play. 

Surprise  was  dead  in  Archie  where  the  Governor 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      169 

was  concerned;  he  could  only  marvel  at  the  ease 
and  finish  with  which  the  man  made  the  room  vibrate 
with  the  most  exquisite  melodies  of  Schumann, 
Chopin,  MacDowell.  He  played  for  half  an  hour 
without  airs  or  affectations,  things  that  bruised  and 
hurt  the  spirit  By  their  very  tenderness  and  wistful- 
ness. 

"It's  as  though  some  one  had  been  flinging  hand- 
fuls  of  rose  leaves  into  the  room,"  said  Julia  softly 
when  the  last  chords  had  died  away. 

The  music  had  at  least  served  the  purpose  of 
dispersing  any  unhappy  hovering  ghosts,  and  she 
was  quick  to  seize  the  moment  as  a  propitious  one 
for  her  departure.  The  Governor  did  not  demur 
when  she  asked  him  to  see  if  her  car  was  waiting. 

"You  are  not  afraid  to  drive  out  alone  ?  I  should 
be  glad,  you  know,  to  make  the  run  with  you." 

"Not  in  the  least  afraid,"  she  answered  lightly. 

Fear,  Archie  thought,  was  not  a  thing  one  would 
associate  with  her.  The  Governor  brought  her 
coat,  a  long  garment  that  covered  her  completely. 
She  produced  from  the  bag  a  cap  which  she  sub 
stituted  for  the  hat  and  Archie  had  thus  his  first 
view  of  her  handsome  head  and  abundant  dark 
hair  and  her  face  freed  of  the  baffling  shadow. 

In  carrying  her  wrap  into  the  room  the  Governor 
had  frustrated  any  hope  she  may  have  had  for  a 
private  word  with  him;  but  she  betrayed  no  re 
sentment. 

"It's  really  much  nicer  changing  indoors,"  she 
laughed,  standing  before  a  mirror  to  adjust  the  cap. 
"Coming  in  I  shifted  my  headgear  just  before  we 
reached  town.  Behold  me  now,  a  woman  trans 
formed!" 


170  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

The  Governor  plucked  Archie's  sleeve  as  a  sign 
that  he  was  not  to  drop  back  and  she  walked  to 
the  car  between  them. 

With  a  smile  and  a  wave  of  the  hand  she  was 
gone  and  they  stood  at  the  curb  looking  after  her 
until  the  limousine  was  out  of  sight. 

"Thank  you,  lad,"  said  the  Governor  quietly. 

They  went  up  to  his  den,  where  they  smoked 
for  some  time  in  silence.  The  Governor  seemed 
to  be  gathering  himself  together  after  the  strain 
of  the  three  difficult  hours  and  when  he  spoke  finally 
it  was  with  a  deep  sigh. 

"Well,  Archie,  we  must  bear  ourselves  as  men 
in  all  our  perplexities.  We  are  put  into  this  world 
for  a  purpose,  every  chick  of  us,  and  there's  no 
use  kicking  the  shins  of  the  high  gods.  I  feel  a 
leading ;  there's  something  pulling  us  both ;  unseen 
powers  knocking  us  about.  Tomorrow  I  shall 
be  engaged  most  of  the  day ;  there  are  some  of  the 
brotherhood  to  meet  and  it  must  be  managed  with 
caution.  I  suggest  that  you  stretch  your  legs  in 
the  park  and  feed  the  swans  as  a  tranquilizer.  Soon 
we  shall  be  abroad  on  the  eternal  quest.  The  quest 
for  what,  I  see  written  in  your  eyes  !  For  peace, 
Archie ;  for  happiness !  It  may  be  nearer  than 
we  think  —  there's  always  that  to  tie  our  hopes  to  ! " 

"It  would  be  possible,  I  suppose,"  said  Archie 
slowly,  "for  us  to  cut  it  all  out,  settle  back  into 
our  old  places  - 

"Never!"  cried  the  Governor.  "I  tell  you 
we've  got  to  complete  the  circle !  If  we  stop  now 
we're  ruined,  both  of  us !  We've  got  to  go  right 
on.  I  know  what's  the  matter  with  you ;  it's  that 
dear  sister  of  mine  who  has  wakened  in  you  all 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  171 

manner  of  regrets  and  yearnings  for  your  old  life. 
Ah,  she  couldn't  fail  to  affect  you  that  way;  she's 
so  wholly  the  real  thing !  Seeing  her  probably 
made  you  homesick  for  your  Isabel.  There !  I 
thought  you  would  jump  !  And  maybe  you  think 
I  haven't  been  troubled  in  the  same  way  about 
my  little  affair !  There  would  be  something  funda 
mentally  wrong  with  us,  lad,  if  we  didn't  feel,  when 
we  stood  before  a  beautiful  noble  woman,  as  though 
we  were  in  a  divine  presence.  That's  the  test, 
Archie;  so  long  as  we  are  sensible  of  that  feeling 
there's  some  hope  for  us  in  this  world  and  the  next." 

Ill 

Archie  learned  from  Baring,  who  brought  up  his 
breakfast,  that  the  Governor  had  left  the  house. 

"  It  was  our  orders  to  take  good  care  of  you,  sir ; 
if  there's  any  way  we  can  serve  you  — 

"A  morning  paper;  that  will  be  all,  thank  you. 
I  shall  be  going  out  presently." 

"Very  good,  sir.  The  master  thought  it  likely 
you  would  spend  the  day  out.  He  will  hardly  be 
in  himself  before  six." 

Here  again  was  an  opportunity  to  abandon  the 
Governor,  but  keen  now  for  new  experiences  and 
sensations,  Archie  dismissed  the  idea.  The  appeal  of 
the  Governor's  sister  had  imposed  a  new  burden 
upon  him,  and  the  Governor's  voluble  prattle  about 
fate  and  the  inevitable  drawing  of  destiny  had  im 
pressed  him.  He  could  depart  for  Banff  and  take 
the  chance  of  never  being  molested  for  any  of  his 
crimes,  but  to  do  this  would  be  cowardice,  just  that 
fear  of  his  fate  that  Isabel  had  twitted  him  about. 


172  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

He  chose  a  stick  with  care  from  a  rack  at  the 
front  door,  walked  to  the  Avenue  and  turned  deter 
minedly  cityward,  walking  jauntily.  Beyond  Forty- 
second  Street  he  passed  several  acquaintances,  who 
nodded,  just  as  the  Governor  had  predicted,  little 
dreaming  that  he  was  a  reckless  criminal,  a  man 
with  an  alias  and  a  fortnight's  record  that  would 
make  a  lively  story  for  the  newspapers. 

He  was  rather  disappointed  that  no  one  followed 
him,  no  hand  was  clapped  on  his  shoulder.  He 
reached  Madison  Square  unwearied,  wondering 
whether  the  obliteration  of  his  moral  sense  had 
destroyed  also  his  old  fears  about  his  health.  He 
climbed  to  the  front  seat  of  a  bus  and  rode  up  the 
Avenue,  a  conspicuous  figure. 

He  grinned  as  he  saw  seated  in  the  upper  window 
of  the  most  conservative  of  all  his  clubs  one  of  his 
several  prosperous  uncles,  an  old  gentleman  who 
for  years  was  to  be  found  in  that  same  spot  at  this 
same  hour  of  the  day. 

Having  sufficiently  exposed  himself  to  the  eyes 
of  the  world  he  determined  to  eat  luncheon  in 
the  park  restaurant.  His  appetite  demanded  an 
amount  of  food  that  he  would  have  been  incapable 
of  consuming  a  month  earlier,  and  having  given 
his  order  he  surveyed  the  pavilion  tranquilly. 
Women  and  children  were  the  chief  patrons,  with 
a  sprinkling  of  sightseers  resting  from  their  con 
templation  of  the  city's  wonders. 

He  watched  idly  a  young  woman  with  two  chil 
dren  who  occupied  a  table  directly  in  his  line  of 
vision.  He  was  sure  she  was  their  mother,  and  not 
a  governess ;  she  was  smartly  dressed,  and  her  man 
ner  with  the  youngsters  was  charming.  She  occa- 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      173 

sionally  glanced  about  nervously,  and  he  detected 
several  times  a  troubled  look  in  her  face.  The  chil 
dren  chattered  gaily,  but  it  was  evidently  with  an 
effort  that  she  answered  their  questions  or  entered 
into  their  talk.  Children  always  interested  him,  and 
the  boy  was  a  handsome  little  fellow,  but  it  was 
the  girl  who  held  Archie's  attention,  first  as  the 
embodiment  of  the  beauty  and  innocence  of  youth, 
and  then  with  a  perplexed  sense  that  he  had  seen 
her  before.  She  suddenly  turned  toward  him, 
her  fair  curls  tumbling  about  her  shoulders,  and 
glanced  idly  across  the  pavilion.  The  fine  oval 
face,  the  eyes  dancing  with  merriment  at  some 
thing  her  brother  had  directed  her  attention  to, 
sent  his  thoughts  flying  to  Bailey  Harbor.  As 
though  consciously  aiding  his  memory,  she  fell 
into  the  relaxed  pose  so  happily  caught  by  the 
photograph,  with  the  same  childish  archness  and 
captivating  smile. 

Their  luncheon  had  just  been  served  and  he 
continued  to  inspect  them  with  a  deepening  con 
viction  that  the  woman  was  Mrs.  Congdon  and 
these  the  children  mentioned  in  the  telegram  he 
had  found  tucked  under  the  plate  of  the  Bailey 
Harbor  house.  The  resemblance  between  the  young 
woman  and  the  child  with  the  roguish  smile  was 
unmistakable.  She  might  on  occasion  present  the 
same  smiling  countenance,  though  in  unguarded 
moments  a  tense,  worried  look  came  into  her  face, 
and  she  continued  her  anxious  survey  of  her  neighbors. 

It  was  a  dispiriting  thought  that  there  under 
his  eyes,  so  close  that  the  babble  of  the  children 
occasionally  reached  him  across  the  intervening 
tables,  was  the  family  of  the  man  he  had  shot. 


174  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP !! 

Their  ignorance  of  that  dark  transaction  gave  him 
little  comfort,  nor  was  there  any  extenuation  of  his 
sin  in  the  fact  that  the  wife  had  fled  to  escape  from 
her  husband's  brutality.  He  tried  to  console  him 
self  with  the  reflection  that  the  thing  had  a  ludi 
crous  side.  He  might  walk  over  to  Mrs.  Congdon 
and  say:  "Pardon  me,  madam,  but  it  may  interest 
you  to  know  that  I  shot  your  husband  at  Bailey 
Harbor  and  you  have  nothing  further  to  fear  from 
him.  I  am  unable  to  state  at  the  moment  whether 
the  wound  was  a  mortal  one,  but  from  my  knowledge 
of  your  family  affairs  I  judge  that  you  would  hardly 
be  grieved  if  you  never  saw  him  again." 

He  was  shocked  at  his  own  levity.  The  thing 
was  not  in  any  aspect  a  laughing  matter.  Amid 
other  experiences  he  had  freed  himself  for  a  few 
days  of  the  thought  of  Putney  Congdon  lying  dead 
in  a  lonely  cleft  of  the  Maine  rocks,  but  meeting 
the  man's  family  in  this  fashion  was  almost  as  dis 
concerting  as  a  visit  from  Congdon's  ghost. 

The  Congdons  had  eaten  their  meal  hurriedly 
and  were  already  paying  their  check.  He  watched 
them  move  away  toward  the  interior  of  the  park, 
marked  their  direction  and  chose  a  parallel  course 
with  a  view  to  keeping  them  in  sight. 

Occasionally  he  caught  glimpses  of  the  children 
dancing  ahead  of  their  mother.  The  remote  paths 
she  chose  for  the  ramble  confirmed  his  suspicion 
that -she  was  on  guard  against  the  threatened  seizure 
of  the  youngsters  by  their  father,  and  having  been 
driven  from  Bailey  Harbor  was  now  in  town  to 
formulate  her  plans  for  the  future,  or  perhaps 
only  whiling  away  the  hours  until  she  could  escape 
to  some  other  place  in  the  country.  Unable  to 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      175 

argue  himself  out  of  a  feeling  that  Mrs.  Congdon's 
troubles  were  no  affair  of  his  he  was  beset  by  the 
fear  that  he  might  be  doomed  for  the  rest  of  his 
life  to  follow  them,  to  view  them  from  afar  off, 
never  speaking  to  them,  but  led  on  by  the  guilty 
knowledge  that  he  was  a  dark  factor  in  their  lives. 

He  became  so  engrossed  that  he  lost  track  of 
them  for  a  time;  then  a  turn  of  the  path  brought 
him  close  upon  them.  Mrs.  Congdon  was  sitting 
on  a  bench  under  a  big  elm  and  the  children  were 
joyously  romping  on  the  lawn  in  front  of  her,  play 
ing  with  a  toy  balloon  to  which  a  bit  of  bark  had 
been  fastened.  They  would  toss  it  in  the  air  and 
jump  and  catch  it  while  the  weight  prevented  its 
escape.  A  gust  of  wind  caught  it  as  Archie  passed 
and  drove  it  across  his  path,  while  the  children 
with  screams  of  glee  pursued  it.  The  string  caught 
under  his  hat  brim  and  he  seized  it  just  as  the  girl, 
outdistancing  her  brother,  plunged  into  him. 

"Edith!"  called  the  mother,  rising  quickly. 
"Children,  you  mustn't  go  into  the  path.  There's 
plenty  of  room  here  for  you  to  play." 

"  The  wind  was  a  little  too  much  for  you  that  time  ! " 
laughed  Archie,  as  the  children,  panting  from  their 
run,  waited  for  the  restoration  of  their  plaything. 
He  measured  the  buoyancy  of  the  balloon  against 
the  ballast,  and  let  go  of  it  with  a  little  toss  that 
seemed  to  free  it,  then  he  sprang  up  and  caught  it 
amid  their  excited  cries. 

The  little  girl  curtsied  as  he  put  the  string  in  her 
hand. 

"Thank  you  very  much  !"  they  chorused. 

Mrs.  Congdon  had  walked  a  little  way  toward 
the  path  but  now  that  the  children  were  again 


176  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

scampering  over  the  lawn  she  paused  and  made  a 
slight,  the  slightest,  inclination  of  the  head  as  Archie 
lifted  his  hat  and  continued  on  his  way. 

Edith  was  the  name  used  in  the  telegram  he  had 
found  in  the  Bailey  Harbor  house,  and  this  coupled 
with  his  closer  view  of  the  child  disposed  of  Archie's 
last  hope  that  after  all  it  might  not  be  Mrs.  Congdon 
and  her  children  he  had  stumbled  upon.  She  had  no 
business  to  throw  herself  across  his  path,  he  fumed. 
The  appearance  of  Putney  Congdon's  father  at 
Cornford  had  shaken  him  sufficiently,  but  that  he 
should  be  haunted  by  the  man's  wife  and  children 
angered  him.  He  wanted  to  fly  from  the  park  and 
hide  himself  again  in  his  room  at  the  Governor's 
house,  but  he  was  without  will  to  leave.  The  decent 
thing  for  him  to  do  was  to  take  the  first  train  for 
Bailey,  and  begin  diligent  search  for  Putney  Cong 
don,  dead  or  alive.  He  had  no  right  to  assume  that 
the  man's  serious  injury  or  death  would  be  any  con 
solation  to  the  wife  and  children.  And  the  quarrel 
between  husband  and  wife  might  have  been  only  a 
tiff,  something  that  would  have  been  adjusted  with 
out  further  bitterness  but  for  his  interference.  There 
was  no  joy  in  the  fate  that  kept  continually  bring 
ing  his  crime  to  his  attention.  Thoroughly  miserable, 
he  threw  himself  upon  a  bench  and  lapsed  into 
gloomy  meditations.  The  light-hearted  laughter  of 
the  children  —  Putney  Congdon's  children  —  was 
borne  to  him  fitfully  to  add  to  his  discomfiture, 
but  he  was  held  to  the  spot.  There  was  something 
weirdly  fascinating  in  their  propinquity,  and  in  the 
thought  that  he  alone  of  all  men  on  earth  could  ever 
tell  them  just  what  had  happened  in  their  house 
when  their  father  went  there  to  search  for  them. 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  177 

He  sat  half  an  hour  pensively,  noting  an  occasional 
pedestrian  or  the  flash  of  a  motor  that  rolled  through 
the  unfrequented  driveway.  But  for  the  hum  of 
the  cars  the  deep  calm  of  a  June  afternoon  lay  upon 
the  landscape. 

Then  a  piercing  scream,  the  shrill  cry  of  a  child 
in  terror,  brought  him  to  his  feet. 

"Help!    Help!    Oh,  Edith !    Edith!" 

The  cries  sent  him  at  a  run  toward  the  place  in 
which  he  had  left  the  Congdons. 

Rounding  a  curve  in  the  path  he  saw  a  man  rush 
ing  down  the  road  with  Edith  in  his  arms.  The 
mother  was  racing  after  him,  while  the  little  boy 
lay  wailing  where  he  had  fallen  in  his  frantic  effort 
to  follow.  In  the  distance  stood  a  car,  with  a  woman 
waiting  beside  the  open  door. 

Archie  redoubled  his  pace,  passed  Mrs.  Congdon 
and  gained  the  car  as  the  man  with  the  child  in  his 
arms  jumped  into  it.  The  woman,  who  had  evi 
dently  been  acting  as  watcher,  stumbled  as  she 
attempted  to  spring  in  after  them  and  delayed 
flight  for  an  instant.  The  door  slammed  viciously 
on  Archie's  arm  as  he  landed  on  the  running  board. 
The  car  was  moving  rapidly  and  a  man's  voice 
bade  the  driver  hurry.  Within  the  child's  screams 
were  suddenly  stifled,  the  door  swung  open  for  an 
instant  and  a  blow,  delivered  full  in  the  face,  sent 
Archie  reeling  into  the  road. 

When  he  gained  his  feet  Mrs.  Congdon  stood 
beside  him  moaning  and  wringing  her  hands.  A 
mounted  policeman  rode  upon  the  scene,  listened 
for  an  instant  to  Archie's  explanations  and,  sound 
ing  his  whistle,  set  off  after  the  car  at  a  gallop.  A 
dozen  of  the  park  police  were  on  the  spot  imme- 


178      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

diately,  followed  by  a  crowd  of  excited  spectators. 
Mrs.  Congdon  had  fainted  and  several  women  were 
ministering  to  her.  The  little  boy,  sobbing  plain 
tively,  tried  to  answer  the  questions  of  the  sergeant 
who  took  charge  and  despatched  men  in  every  direc 
tion  to  search  for  the  kidnapers  and  send  the 
alarm  through  the  city. 

Archie's  nose  bled  from  the  rap  in  the  face  and 
his  back  ached  where  he  had  struck  the  earth. 
The  sergeant  plied  him  with  questions  which  he 
answered  carefully,  knowing  that  in  all  the  cir 
cumstances  of  his  having  loitered  in  the  vicinity 
he  might  not  unnaturally  be  suspected  of  com 
plicity.  When  his  name  was  asked,  he  answered 
promptly. 

"John  B.  Wright,  Boston;  stopping  at  the  Hotel 
Ganymede." 

"Business?" 

"Broker,  Nanonet  Building,  Boston." 

These  items  officially  written  down,  he  described 
truthfully  how  he  had  first  seen  the  woman  and  her 
children  in  the  pavilion,  the  subsequent  walk,  and 
the  episode  of  the  balloon.  He  pointed  out  just 
where  he  had  been  sitting  when  the  screams  attracted 
his  attention. 

"This  is  a  serious  case  and  you  will  be  wanted  as  a 
witness,"  said  the  officer.  "You  didn't  know  these 
people  —  never  saw  them  before  ?" 

"No.  I  had  come  to  the  park  to  kill  time  until 
four  o'clock,  when  I  have  an  engagement  at  the 
Plaza  Hotel." 

The  officer  noted  carefully  his  description  of  the 
woman  who  had  assisted  in  the  kidnaping  and 
such  meager  facts  as  he  was  able  to  give  as  to  the 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      179 

man  who  had  carried  off  the  little  girl  under  the 
very  eyes  of  her  mother. 

The  sergeant  glanced  at  Archie's  ruddy  handker 
chief  and  grinned. 

"Guess  that  let's  you  out!  You  didn't  get  the 
number  of  the  taxi  ?  That  would  help  a  little." 

"There  wasn't  time  for  that.  I  was  trying  to 
hang  on  till  help  came,  but  this  smash  in  the  face 
spoiled  that." 

To  the  jostling  crowd  anxious  to  hear  his  story 
Archie  was  a  hero,  or  very  nearly  one.  He  heard 
their  murmurs  of  admiration  as  he  described  the 
manner  in  which  he  had  attempted  to  board  the 
car.  There  were  enormous  hazards  in  the  whole 
situation  and  every  consideration  of  personal  security 
demanded  that  he  leave  the  park  at  once,  but  Mrs. 
Congdon  was  now  recovering,  and  he  was  reluctant 
to  abandon  her  and  the  frightened  boy  to  the 
mercies  of  the  park  police  and  staring  spectators. 

She  had  recovered  sufficiently  to  tell  her  story, 
and  to  Archie's  relief  corroborated  his  own  version 
in  a  manner  to  dispose  of  any  question  as  to  his 
innocence. 

The  woman's  composure  struck  Archie  as  remark 
able  and  her  replies  to  the  officer's  questions  were 
brief  and  exact.  Several  times  she  appealed  to  him 
for  confirmation  on  some  point,  and  he  edged  closer 
and  stood  beside  her  defensively.  Her  inquisitor 
had  neglected  to  ask  her  name  and  address  in  his 
eagerness  for  information  as  to  the  appearance  of 
the  kidnapers.  Her  reply  gave  Archie  a  distinct 
shock. 

"Mrs.  George  W.  Kendall,  117  E.  Coming  Street, 
Brooklyn." 


l8o  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"Have  you  been  threatened  in  any  way?  Have 
you  any  enemy  who  might  have  attempted  to  steal 
the  child?" 

"Nothing  of  the  kind.  I  brought  the  children  to 
the  park  just  for  an  outing  and  with  no  thought  that 
anything  so  horrible  could  happen." 

It  was  incredible  that  any  one  could  lie  with 
so  convincing  an  air.  He  was  satisfied  that  she  was 
Mrs.  Putney  Congdon,  and  that  the  child  she  had 
called  Edith  was  the  original  of  the  photograph  he 
had  seen  at  Bailey  Harbor.  And  the  stealing  of  the 
child  was  in  itself  but  the  actual  carrying  out  of  her 
husband's  threat.  He  knew  far  too  much  about  the 
Congdons  for  his  own  peace  of  mind,  but  he  was  un 
willing  to  desert  her  in  her  perplexities.  When  the 
owners  of  several  machines  offered  to  take  her  home, 
she  glanced  about  uncertainly  and  her  eyes  falling 
upon  him  seemed  to  invite  his  assistance. 

"  Pardon  me,  but  if  I  can  serve  you  in  any  way  — 

"Thank  you,"  she  said  with  relief.  "I  must  get 
away  from  this ;  it's  unbearable." 

He  put  her  and  the  boy  into  a  taxi,  whose  driver 
had  been  early  on  the  scene,  and  drove  away  with 
them,  with  a  final  promise  to  the  sergeant  to  report 
later  at  the  park  station. 

"Brooklyn!"  he  ordered. 

For  a  few  minutes  she  was  busy  comforting  the 
child  and  Archie  deep  in  thought  turned  to  meet  the 
searching  gaze  of  her  gray  eyes. 

"You  are  a  gentleman;  I  am  sure  of  that;  and 
I  feel  that  I  can  trust  you. " 

That  the  wife  of  a  man  he  had  tried  to  kill  and 
possibly  had  slain  should  be  paving  the  way  for  con 
fidences,  gave  him  a  bewildered  sense  of  being 


BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP !  1 8 1 

whisked  through  some  undiscovered  country  where 
the  impossible  had  become  the  real.  : 

"I'm  in  a  strange  predicament,  and  Fm  forced  to 
ask  your  help.  The  name  and  address  I  gave  the 
police  were  fictitious.  I  know  it  has  a  queer  look ; 
but  I  had  to  do  it.  I  know  perfectly  well  who  carried 
away  my  little  girl.  The  man  and  woman  you  saw 
at  the  car  were  servants  employed  by  my  father-in- 
law,  who  cordially  dislikes  me.  There  had  been 
trouble  —  " 

With  a  shrug  she  expressed  her  impatience  of  her 
troubles,  and  bent  over  the  boy  who  was  demanding 
to  be  taken  to  Edith. 

"You'll  see  Edith  soon,  dear,  so  don't  trouble  any 
more,"  she  said  kindly. 

Having  quieted  the  child,  she  returned  to  her  own 
affairs,  glancing  out  to  note  the  direction  of  the  car. 
She  had  done  some  quick  thinking  in  making  her 
decision  to  hide  her  identity  from  the  police.  There 
was  fight  in  her  eyes  and  Archie  realized  that  he  had 
to  do  with  a  woman  of  spirit.  He  waited  eagerly 
for  a  hint  as  to  her  plans. 

"Of  course  I'm  not  going  to  Brooklyn,"  she  said, 
as  the  taxi  swung  into  Fifth  Avenue.  "Please  tell 
the  man  to  drive  to  the  Altmore,  ladies'  entrance. 
I'll  walk  through  to  the  main  door  and  take  an 
other  taxi.  I  mean  to  lose  myself,"  she  went  on,  after 
Archie  had  given  the  instructions.  "I  have  every 
intention  of  keeping  away  from  policemen  and  report 
ers,  but  there's  no  reason  why  you  should  bother  any 
further.  I'm  only  sorry  your  name  had  to  be  brought 
into  it.  The  moment  they  find  I've  deceived  them 
they'll  be  after  you  for  further  information,  and  I 
regret  that  exceedingly.  I  wish  to  avoid  publicity 


1 82      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

and  keep  my  domestic  affairs  out  of  the  newspapers ; 
but  this  of  course  will  only  center  attention  the  more 
on  you.  If  there's  anything  I  could  do  — 

"You  needn't  bother  about  that  at  all,"  replied 
Archie  with  a  reassuring  smile.  "The  name  and 
address  I  gave  were  both  false." 

"You  mean  that  really!" 

"I  mean  that;  just  that !  My  reasons  are  of  im 
portance  to  no  one  but  myself,  and  have  nothing  to 
do  with  the  loss  of  your  child,  I  assure  you.  I  give 
you  my  word  that  neither  the  police  nor  the  reporters 
will  ever  find  me.  I  know  nothing  about  you  and  of 
course  it  is  quite  unnecessary  for  me  to  know." 

"Thank  you;  you  are  very  kind,"  she  murmured. 

It  struck  him  as  highly  amusing  that  he  should  be 
conspiring  with  the  wife  of  a  gentleman  he  had  shot. 
In  every  aspect  it  was  ridiculous  and  not  since  boy 
hood  had  he  felt  so  much  like  giggling.  And  Mrs. 
Congdon  was  wonderful ;  it  was  a  delight  to  be  the 
repository  of  the  confidences  of  so  handsome  a  young 
matron  and  one  who  met  so  difficult  a  situation  so 
courageously.  They  were  both  liars ;  both  were 
practising  a  deceit  that  could  hardly  fail  to  bring 
them  under  sharp  scrutiny  if  they  should  be  caught. 

Women  were  far  from  being  the  simple  creatures 
he  had  believed  them  to  be.  The  heart  of  woman 
was  a  labyrinth  of  mystery.  Mrs.  Congdon,  alto 
gether  lovely  and  bearing  all  the  marks  of  breeding, 
had  lied  quite  as  convincingly  as  Sally  Walker.  The 
ways  of  Isabel  were  beyond  all  human  understanding ; 
and  yet  her  contradictions  only  added  to  her  charm. 
Isabel's  agitation  over  the  affairs  of  the  Congdons 
led  him  close  to  the  point  of  mentioning  her  name  to 
note  its  effect  upon  Mrs.  Congdon,  but  to  do  this 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      $83 

might  be  an  act  of  betrayal  that  would  only  confirm 
Isabel's  opinion  of  him  as  a  stupid,  meddlesome  per 
son.  Nothing  was  to  be  gained  by  attempting  to 
hasten  the  culmination  of  the  fate  that  flung  him 
about  like  a  chip  on  a  turbulent  stream.  Fiends  and 
angels  might  be  battling  for  his  soul,  and  Lucifer 
might  take  him  in  the  end,  but  meanwhile  he  was 
having  a  jolly  good  time. 

He  looked  at  her  covertly  and  they  laughed  with 
the  mirth  of  children  planning  mischief  in  secret. 

"The  little  girl,"  he  ventured ;  "you  are  not  appre 
hensive  about  her?" 

"Not  in  the  slightest.  My  father-in-law  is  most 
disagreeably  eccentric,  but  he  is  very  fond  of  my  chil 
dren.  It  was  quite  like  him  to  attempt  to  carry  off 
the  little  girl,  always  a  particular  pet  of  his.  I  was 
shocked,  of  course,  when  it  happened.  I  thought  I 
should  be  safe  in  the  park  for  a  few  hours  until  I  could 
catch  a  train.  I  meant  to  put  the  children  quite  out  of 
my  husband's  way.  I  didn't  know  he  was  in  town  ;  in 
fact,  I  don't  know  now  that  he  is  or  anything  about 
him.  But  he's  undoubtedly  in  communication  with 
his  father.  It's  rather  a  complicated  business,  you 
see." 

It  was  much  more  complex  than  she  knew,  and 
not,  all  things  considered,  a  laughing  matter.  He 
spent  an  uncomfortable  moment  pondering  a  situa 
tion  which  he  viewed  with  the  mingled  joy  and  awe 
of  a  child  watching  the  fire  in  a  fuse  approach  a 
fire-cracker. 

"I  shall  be  glad  to  assist  you  if  I  can  aid  you  in 
any  way.  You  will  try  to  recover  the  child  —  ?" 
he  suggested. 

"It's  generous  of  you  to  offer,  but  I  think  you  had 


1 84  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

better  keep  out  of  it.  Of  course  I  shall  have  Edith 
back ;  you  may  be  sure  of  that." 

"You  have  some  idea  of  where  they  are  taking 
lier  — ?" 

"No,  I  really  haven't.  But  she  will  be  safe,  though 
I  hate  to  think  of  her  being  subjected  to  so  hideous 
an  experience.  It's  rather  odd,  as  I  think  of  it,  that 
my  husband  didn't  personally  try  to  take  the  child 
from  me." 

This,  uttered  musingly,  gave  Archie  a  perturbed 
moment.  But  the  car  had  reached  the  Altmore. 
He  lifted  out  the  boy  and  accompanied  them  to  the 
door. 

"Thank  you,  very  much,"  she  said  in  a  tone  that 
dismissed  him. 

Archie  drove  to  another  hostelry  for  a  superficial 
cleaning  up,  explaining  to  the  brush  boy  who  scraped 
the  oily  mud  from  his  trousers  that  he  had  been  in 
an  automobile  accident.  He  rode  downtown  in  the 
subway,  strolled  past  the  skyscraper  in  which  his 
office  was  situated  and  returned  to  the  Governor's 
house  feeling  on  the  whole  well  pleased  with  himself. 

IV 

Refreshed  by  a  nap  and  a  shower  he  was  dressed 
and  waiting  for  the  Governor  at  seven.  On  his  way 
through  the  hall  he  ran  into  a  man  whose  sudden  ap 
pearance  gave  him  a  start.  He  was  not  one  of  the 
servants  but  a  rough-looking  stranger  with  drooping 
shoulders  and  a  smear  of  dirt  across  his  cheek.  He 
would  have  passed  him  in  the  street  as  a  laborer  re 
turning  from  a  hard  day's  work.  The  man  did  not 
lift  his  eyes  but  shuffled  on  to  the  door  of  the  Gov- 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  185 

ernor's  room  which  he  opened  and  then,  flinging 
round,  stood  erect  and  laughed  aloud. 

"Pardon  me,  Archie,  for  giving  you  a  scare!  I 
couldn't  resist  the  impulse  to  test  this  make-up!" 

"You!"  cried  Archie,  blinking  as  the  Governor 
switched  on  the  light. 

"I  went  and  came  in  these  togs;  not  for  a  lark,  I 
assure  you,  but  because  I  had  to  go  clear  down  under 
the  crust  today.  Turn  the  water  on  in  my  tub  and 
I'll  be  slipping  into  decent  duds  in  a  jiffy.  Here's 
an  extra  I  picked  up  downtown.  The  scream  of  the 
evening  is  a  kidnaping  —  most  deplorable  line  of 
business  !  Have  you  ever  noticed  a  certain  perio 
dicity  in  child  stealing  ?  About  every  so  often  you 
hear  of  such  a  case.  Despicable ;  a  foul  crime  hardly 
second  to  murder.  Hanging  is  not  too  severe  a  pun 
ishment.  Clear  out  now,  for  if  we  begin  talking  I'll 
never  get  dressed  !" 

The  account  of  the  kidnaping  in  the  park  was 
little  more  than  a  bulletin,  but  Archie  soon  had  it 
committed  to  memory.  The  police  had  not  yet 
learned  that  the  two  most  important  witnesses  had 
given  fictitious  names,  for  both  pseudonyms  ap 
peared  in  the  article. 

In  spite  of  the  Governor's  frequently  avowed  as 
sertion  that  he  wished  to  know  nothing  about  him, 
Archie  felt  strongly  impelled  to  make  a  clean  breast 
of  the  Bailey  Harbor  affair,  the  two  encounters  with 
Isabel  and  his  meeting  with  Mrs.  Congdon.  His 
resolution  strengthened  when  the  Governor  appeared, 
dressed  with  his  usual  care  and  exhilarated  by  his 
day's  adventures.  At  the  table  the  Governor  threw 
a  remark  now  and  then  at  the  butler  as  to  the  where 
abouts  and  recent  performances  of  some  of  that  func- 


1 86      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

tionary's  old  pals.  Baring  received  this  information 
soberly  with  only  the  most  deferential  murmurs  of 
pleasure  or  dismay  at  the  successes  or  failures  of  the 
old  comrades.  Baring  retired  after  the  dinner  had 
been  served,  and  the  Governor,  in  cozy  accord  with 
his  cigar,  remarked  suddenly : 

"Odd;  you  might  almost  say  singular!  I've 
crossed  old  man  Congdon's  trail  again !  You  recall 
him  —  the  old  boy  we  left  to  the  tender  mercies  of 
Seebrook  and  Walters?" 

"Yes;  go  on!"  exclaimed  Archie  so  impatiently 
that  the  Governor  eyed  him  in  surprise. 

"It's  remarkable  how  my  theory  that  every  man 
is  a  potential  crook  finds  fresh  proof  all  the  time. 
Now  old  Congdon  is  rich  and  there's  no  reason  on 
earth  why  he  shouldn't  live  straight ;  but,  bless  you, 
it's  quite  otherwise !  He's  a  victim  of  the  same 
aberration  that  prompts  people  apparently  as  up 
right  as  a  flagstaff  to  drop  hotel  towels  into  their 
trunks,  collect  coffee  spoons  in  popular  restaurants, 
or  steal  flowers  in  public  gardens  when  they  have  ex 
pensive  conservatories  at  home.  You  never  can 
tell,  Archie." 

Archie,  with  the  Congdons  looming  large  on  his 
horizon,  was  not  interested  in  the  philosophical  as 
pects  of  petty  pilfering. 

"Stick  to  Eliphalet,"  he  suggested. 

"Oh,  yes !  Well,  I  met  today  one  of  tne  most  re 
markable  of  all  the  men  I  know  who  camp  outside  the 
pale.  Perky  is  his  name  in  Who's  Who  in  No  Man's 
Land.  A  jeweler  by  trade,  he  fell  from  his  high 
estate  and  went  on  the  road  as  a  yegg.  The  work 
was  too  rough  for  him  for  one  thing,  and  for  another 
it  was  too  much  of  a  gamble.  Opening  safes  only  to 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      187 

find  that  they  contained  a  few  dollars  in  stamps  and 
the  postmaster's  carpet  slippers  vexed  him  extremely 
and  he  then  entered  into  the  game  of  boring  neat 
holes  in  the  rim  of  twenty-dollar  gold  pieces,  leaving 
only  the  outer  shell  and  filling  'em  up  with  a  com 
position  he  invented  that  made  the  coin  ring  like  a 
marriage  bell.  While  he  was  still  experimenting  he 
ran  into  old  Eliphalet  sitting  with  his  famous  um 
brella  on  a  bench  in  Boston  Common.  Perky  thought 
Eliphalet  was  a  stool  pigeon  for  a  con  outfit,  but  ex 
planations  followed  and  it  was  a  case  of  infatuation 
on  both  sides.  The  old  man  was  as  tickled  with  the 
scheme  as  a  boy  with  a  new  dog.  He  now  assists 
Perky  to  circulate  the  spurious  medium  of  exchange. 
Perky  says  he's  a  wonderful  ally,  endowed  with  all 
the  qualities  of  a  first  class  crook." 

"You'll  appreciate  that  better,'-  said  Archie, 
"when  you  hear  what  I  know  about  the  Congdon 
family.  You've  been  mighty  decent  in  not  pressing 
me  for  any  account  of  myself  but  you've  got  to  hear 
my  story  now.  We'll  probably  both  be  more  com 
fortable  if  I  don't  tell  you  my  name,  but  you  shall 
have  that,  too,  if  you  care  for  it.  So  many  things 
have  happened  since  I  left  Bailey  Harbor  that  you 
don't  know  about,  things  that  I  haven't  dared  tell 
you,  that  I'm  going  to  spout  it  all  now  and  here. 
If  you  want  to  chuck  me  when  you've  heard  it,  well 
enough ;  but  I  don't  mind  saying  that  to  part  with 
you  would  hurt  me  terribly.  I  never  felt  so  depend 
ent  on  any  man  as  I  do  on  you;  and  I've  grown 
mighty  fond  of  you,  old  man." 

"Thank  you,  lad,"  said  the  Governor. 

He  listened  patiently,  nodding  occasionally  or 
throwing  in  a  question.  When  Archie  finished  he 
rose  and  clapped  him  on  the  shoulder. 


1 88      BLACKSHEEP !  BLACKSHEEP ! 

"By  Jove,  you've  tossed  my  stars  around  like  so 
many  dice  !  I've  got  to  consult  the  oracles  imme 
diately." 

He  darted  from  the  room  and  when  Archie  reached 
his  study  the  Governor  was  poring  over  a  map  of 
the  heavens. 

"•Your  Isabel's  all  tangled  up  in  our  affairs!"  de 
clared  the  Governor  with  mock  resentment.  "It's 
she  who  has  upset  the  calculations  of  all  star-gazers 
from  the  time  of  Ptolemy  !" 

"Isabel!"  cried  Archie  excitedly.  "I  don't  catch 
the  drift  of  this  at  all !" 

"I  should  be  surprise:!  if  you  did!  Note  that 
countless  lines  converge  upon  my  diagram.  Isabel 
will  dawn  upon  your  gaze  again  very  soon  —  I  feel 
it  coming.  Our  next  move  was  clearly  outlined  to 
me  before  we  came  to  town,  but  I  must  verify  the 
figures  in  the  light  of  this  pistol  practice  at  Bailey." 
He  covered  many  sheets  of  a  large  tablet  with  figures 
and  threw  down  his  pencil  with  a  satisfied  sigh. 

"Rochester!"  he  muttered.  "Rochester  of  all 
places !" 

"Would  you  mind  telling  me  just  what  Rochester 
has  to  do  with  all  this?"  Archie  demanded  testily. 

"My  dear  boy,  Rochester  is  one  of  the  suburbs  of 
Paradise  !  The  commerce  and  manufactures  of  that 
city  are  nothing;  it's  an  outpost  of  Romance,  like 
Bagdad  and  Camelot,  a  port  of  call  on  the  sea  of 
dreams,  like  Carcassonne !  You  may  recall  that  I 
told  you  of  a  certain  tile  in  a  summer  house  where 
my  adored  promised  to  leave  a  message  for  me  if  her 
heart  softened  or  she  needed  me.  Well,  the  secret 
post-office  is  at  Rochester;  there  the  incomparable 
visits  her  aunt  and  about  this  time  of  year  she's  likely 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  189 

to  be  there.  And  if  you  knew  the  way  of  the  stars 
and  could  understand  my  calculations  you'd  see  that 
your  Isabel  is  likely  to  have  some  business  in  that 
neighborhood  just  about  now." 

"Rubbish!  I  happen  to  know  that  her  business 
was  all  to  be  in  northern  Michigan  this  summer. 
Your  stars  have  certainly  made  a  monkey  of  you 
this  time!" 

"Cynic  !  The  thought  seems  to  please  you  !  You 
want  to  see  me  discomfited  and  defeated.  Very 
well ;  you  can  drop  me  right  here  if  you  like,  but  I'll 
wager  something  handsome  that  you'll  regret  your 
skepticism  all  the  rest  of  your  days.  Resistance  to 
the  course  of  events  marked  by  the  stars  is  bound  to 
result  in  confusion.  And  here's  another  striking 
coincidence :  You  mentioned  casually  that  Isabel 
spoke  of  buried  treasure  in  the  far  north.  I'm  over 
powered  by  that.  The  sweet  influences  of  Pleiades 
have  long  beguiled  me  with  the  promise  of  a  quest 
for  hidden  gold;  for  years,  Archie,  the  thing  has 
haunted  me." 

"You  talk  like  a  nonsense  book!  How  much 
luggage  are  we  taking?" 

"Take  everything  you've  got!  This  is  going  to 
be  the  most  important  of  all  my  enterprises,  Archie. 
It's  just  as  well  to  be  fully  prepared." 

He  rang  for  Timmons  to  do  their  packing  and 
fell  upon  a  time  table. 

"We  shall  take  it  easy  tomorrow,  arriving  at 
Rochester,  the  city  of  dreams,  just  as  the  shades  of 
night  are  falling  fast.  Run  along  now;  I've  got  a 
lot  to  think  about." 

Archie  was  roused  the  next  morning  by  the  Gov 
ernor,  who  flung  an  armful  of  newspapers  on  his  bed. 


190  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"The  police  have  confessed  with  unusual  frank 
ness  that  they  were  duped  in  the  park  kidnaping. 
You  and  the  attractive  Mrs.  Congdon  both  stepped 
into  the  void.  The  names  and  addresses  are  found 
to  be  imaginary  and  they're  in  the  air !  You  stirred 
up  a  pretty  row,  you  two." 

"  I'd  give  something  handsome  to  know  where  she 
went,"  said  Archie.  "  I  ought  to  have  stood  by  to 
help  her  instead  of  leaving  her  and  her  troubles  at  a 
hotel  door." 

"Having  shot  her  husband,  your  concern  for  her 
safety  and  happiness  does  you  credit !  If  the  fellow 
died  on  the  beach  and  his  body  was  washed  out  to 
sea  Mrs.  Congdon  is  a  widow.  And  in  that  event 
it's  rather  up  to  you  to  offer  to  marry  her.  The 
conventions  of  good  society  demand  it.  Your  story 
gave  me  a  restless  night.  I'm  flabbergasted  by  the 
way  things  are  happening.  For  a  modest  fellow  you 
are  certainly  capable  of  stirring  up  a  queer  mess  of 
situations.  And  the  singular  thing  about  it  is  that 
for  thousands  of  years  we've  been  moving  toward 
each  other  out  of  the  void  !  And  all  the  other  people 
who  were  to  influence  our  destinies  were  on  the  way 
to  join  us  —  scores  of  'em,  Archie  !" 

"Detectives,  policemen,  and  all  the  rest  of  them  ! 
Grand  juries,  prosecuting  officers,  judges  of  criminal 
courts  and  prison  wardens!" 

"You're  going  to  bore  me  one  of  these  days  by 
that  sort  of  prattle.  On  to  Rochester!" 


They  wrote  themselves  down  on  the  hotel  register 
at   Rochester   as   Saulsbury   and   Comly   and   were 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  191 

quickly  in  the  rooms  the  Governor  had  engaged 
by  wire. 

"We  dress,  of  course;  unless  I  give  you  explicit 
directions  to  the  contrary  we  always  dress  for  dinner/' 
said  the  Governor.  "It's  a  lot  more  distinguished 
to  be  shot  in  a  white  tie  than  in  a  morning  suit.  Al 
ways  keep  that  in  mind,  Archie  —  you  who  go  about 
popping  at  men  in  their  own  houses  with  their  own 
pistols." 

"Not  going  with  me!"  he  exclaimed  after  they 
had  dined  sedately  in  the  main  dining-room  of  the 
hotel.  "This  is  truly  the  reductio  ad  absurdum! 
Three  times  I've  invaded  the  premises  of  my  beloved's 
aunt  and  twice  nearly  got  into  trouble  with  police 
men  and  gardeners.  I  need  you,  Archie ;  really  I 
do;  and  you're  not  a  chap  to  desert  a  pal." 

Under  this  compulsion  Archie  found  himself  whisked 
away  to  a  handsome  residential  area  where  the  Gov 
ernor  dismissed  the  driver  at  a  corner  and  continued 
afoot  for  several  blocks. 

"Our  silk  hats  would  disarm  suspicion  in  even 
more  exclusive  neighborhoods.  In  fact  we  lend  a 
certain  distinction  to  the  entire  Genesee  Valley. 
Alleys  are  distasteful  to  me,  but  into  an  alley  we 
must  plunge  with  all  our  splendor." 

Alleys  were  not  only  distasteful  to  Archie,  but  he 
thought  the  search  for  a  message  in  the  grounds  of 
the  handsome  estate  the  Governor  seemed  bent  upon 
exploring  utterly  silly  and  foolhardy.  The  Gover 
nor  ran  his  stick  along  the  top  of  a  wall  that  grimly 
guarded  the  rear  of  the  premises. 

"Glass!"  he  exclaimed,  and  cleared  a  space  with 
a  sweep  of  his  cane.  He  caught  the  edge  of  the  wall 
and  was  quickly  on  top.  When  Archie  hung  back 


192  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

the  Governor  grasped  him  by  the  arms  and  swung 
him  up  and  dropped  him  into  a  dark  corner  of  the 
garden.  The  house  at  the  street  end  of  the  deep  lot 
was  a  large  establishment  that  argued  for  the  pros 
perous  worldly  state  of  the  aunt  of  the  Governor's 
inamorata. 

The  Governor  left  him  with  the  injunction  to  re 
main  where  he  was,  and  he  saw  in  a  moment  the 
glimmer  of  a  match  in  the  summer  house.  -  He  was 
gazing  at  the  tender,  wistful  new  moon  that  suddenly 
slipped  into  his  vision  in  the  west,  when  he  felt  the 
Governor's  hand  on  his  arm. 

"Archie!  Oh,  Archie!"  the  Governor  whispered 
excitedly,  brushing  an  envelope  across  the  bewildered 
Archie's  face.  "Strike  a  match  before  I  perish." 

He  tore  open  the  envelope,  and  his  fingers  trembled 
as  he  held  the  note  to  the  light.  He  read  the  two 
sheets  to  himself  eagerly ;  then  demanded  a  second 
match  and  read  aloud  : 

.  .  .  "If  this  reaches  you,  remain  near  at  hand 
until  I  can  see  you.  Please  understand  that  I  prom 
ise  nothing,  but  it  is  very  possible  that  you  may  be 
able  to  serve  me.  My  aunt  is  giving  a  party  for  me 
Thursday  night.  I  must  leave  it  to  you  as  how  best 
to  arrange  for  a  short  interview  the  day  following. 
A  very  dear  friend  needs  help.  The  matter  is  urgent. 
You  will  think  it  a  fine  irony  that  I  should  call  upon 
you  for  a  service  that  may  be  disagreeable  if  not 
dangerous,  when  your  unaccountable  way  of  life  has 
caused  me  so  much  unhappiness." 

The  match  curled  and  fell  from  Archie's  fingers. 
A  tense  silence  lay  upon  the  garden.  A  bat  slanted 
eerily  through  the  warm  air.  The  Governor  clasped 
Archie's  hand  tightly.  He  seemed  swayed  by  a  deep 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  193 

emotion,  and  when  he  spoke  it  was  in  a  husky 
whisper. 

"It  has  come  as  I  always  knew  it  would  come! 
And  something  tells  me  I  am  near  the  end.  Even 
with  all  my  faith,  boy,  it's  staggering.  And  this  is 
the  very  night  of  the  dance.  Ah,  listen  to  that !" 

They  had  moved  out  into  a  broad  walk  and  Archie 
saw  that  the  house  was  brilliantly  lighted.  Suddenly 
the  strains  of  a  lively  two-step  drew  their  attention 
to  a  platform  that  extended  out  upon  the  lawn  from 
the  conservatory,  and  at  the  same  moment  electric 
lamps  shone  in  dozens  of  Japanese  lanterns  along  tjie 
hedge-lined  paths.  The  Governor  looked  at  his 
watch.  It  was  half-past  nine. 

"It's  about  time  for  us  to  clear  out,"  Archie  re 
marked. 

"What!  Leave  this  sacred  soil  when  she's  here? 
Not  on  your  life,  Archie !  I  shall  not  leave  till  I've 
had  speech  with  her." 

"She  mentioned  the  day  following  the  dance  in  the 
note,"  Archie  protested.  "  You'd  certainly  make  a 
mess  of  things  if  you  tried  to  butt  into  the  party." 

"On  the  other  hand  the  festal  occasion  offers  an 
ideal  opportunity  for  the  meeting !  It's  going  to  be 
a  big  affair;  already  machines  are  dashing  into  the 
driveway  in  large  numbers.  We  can  merge  in  the 
happy  throng  and  trust  to  our  wits  to  get  us  out 
alive.  The  aunt  is  seventy  and  very  wise ;  she'll 
know  us  instantly  as  men  of  quality." 

He  urged  Archie,  still  resisting,  through  the  grounds 
to  the  front  entrance,  where  they  were  admitted 
with  several  other  guests  who  arrived  at  the  same  mo 
ment.  The  gentlemen  they  found  in  the  dressing 
room  merely  glanced  at  them  carelessly  or  nodded. 


194      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

An  old  gentleman,  mistaking  Archie  for  some  one 
else,  asked  assistance  with  an  obstreperous  tie 
and  expressed  his  gratitude  in  the  warmest  terms. 
The  Governor,  primping  with  the  greatest  delibera 
tion,  had  never  been  calmer.  To  Archie  this  in 
trusion  in  the  house  of  perfect  strangers  was  a 
culminating  act  of  folly,  bound  to  result  in  hu 
miliation. 

"We  maybe  a  trifle  early,"  the  Governor  remarked, 
lighting  a  cigarette  and  settling  himself  in  a  rocker. 
"We  shall  receive  greater  consideration  if  we  linger 
a  few  moments/' 

As  Archie  had  counted  on  slipping  downstairs 
heavily  supported  by  properly  invited  guests,  he 
paced  the  floor  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  while  the 
Governor  imperturbably  read  a  magazine. 

The  room  had  cleared  when  at  last  he  expressed 
his  readiness  to  go. 

"The  receiving  line  is  probably  broken  up  by  this 
time.  Our  hostess  doesn't  know  either  of  us  from 
the  lamented  Adam  but  I  shall  introduce  you  quite 
casually,  you  know.  Her  name,  by  the  way,  is  Lind 
say.  There  are  scads  of  people  here ;  the  very  first 
families.  We  may  mingle  freely  without  fear  of 
lowering  our  social  standards." 

The  stately  old  lady  they  found  in  the  drawing- 
room  lifted  a  lorgnette  as  they  approached,  smiled 
affably  and  gave  the  Governor  her  hand. 

"Mrs.  Lindsay,  my  friend,  Mr.  Comly.  He  ar 
rived  unexpectedly  an  hour  ago  and  I  thought  you 
wouldn't  mind  my  bringing  him  along,  so  I  didn't 
bother  you  by  telephoning." 

"I  should  have  been  displeased  if  you  had  hesi 
tated  a  moment  —  any  friend  of  yours,  you  know !" 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      195 

"  Ruth  is  with  you,  of  course  ?  I  haven't  seen  her 
since  the  last  time  she  visited  you." 

"She's  the  same  wonderful  girl!  You  will  find 
her  dancing,  I  think." 

Other  arrivals  facilitated  their  escape.  As  they 
passed  down  the  drawing-room  the  Governor  di 
rected  Archie's  attention  to  a  portrait  which  he  pro 
nounced  a  Copley,  and  insisted  upon  examining 
closely.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  Archie  persuaded 
him  to  leave  it,  so  enraptured  was  the  Governor  with 
the  likeness  of  a  stern  old  gentleman  in  powdered 
wig,  who  gazed  down  upon  them  with  anything  but 
a  friendly  eye. 

As  they  stepped  into  the  conservatory  the  music 
ceased  and  there  was  a  flutter  as  the  dancers  sought 
seats,  or  stepped  out  upon  the  lawn.  Archie,  acutely 
uncomfortable,  heard  the  Governor  stifle  an  excla 
mation. 

"That  is  she!  Stand  by  me  now!  That  chap's 
just  left  her.  This  is  our  chance!" 

A  young  woman  was  just  seating  herself  in  a  chair 
at  the  farther  corner  of  the  conservatory  and  her 
partner  had  darted  away  toward  a  table  where  punch 
was  offered .  The  Governor  moved  toward  her 
quickly.  Archie  saw  her  lift  her  head  suddenly  and 
her  lips  parted  as  though  she  were  about  to  make 
an  outcry.  Then  the  Governor  bowed  low  over  her 
hand,  uttering  explanations  in  a  low  tone.  Her 
surprise  had  yielded  to  what  Archie,  loitering  be 
hind,  thought  an  expression  of  relief  and  satisfaction. 
He  moved  forward  as  the  Governor  turned  toward  him. 
"Miss  Hastings,  Mr.  Comly." 
The  girl  had  risen,  perhaps  the  better  to  hide  her 
agitation,  Archie  thought.  She  absently  accepted 


1 96  BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP ! 

the  cup  of  punch  brought  by  her  partner,  who,  seeing 
her  preoccupied  with  two  strangers,  pledged  her  to 
another  dance  and  left  them. 

"My  name  here,"  the  Governor  was  saying,  "is 
Saulsbury." 

A  slight  shrug  and  a  frown  betrayed  displeasure, 
but  it  was  only  for  a  moment  and  she  smiled  in  spite 
of  herself.  The  Governor's  occasional  references  to 
the  woman  who  had  enchained  his  affections  had 
not  prepared  Archie  for  this  presentation  to  a  Ruth 
who  might  have  passed  for  seventeen  in  a  hasty 
scrutiny  and  upon  whose  graceful  head  it  seemed  a 
wickedness  to  add  the  five  years  the  Governor  had 
attributed  to  her.  She  was  below  medium  height, 
with  brown  hair  and  eyes.  There  was  something 
wonderfully  sweet  and  appealing  in  her  eyes.  Im 
agination  had  set  its  light  in  them  and  the  Governor 
was  a  man  to  awaken  romantic  dreams  in  imagina 
tive  women.  The  tan  of  her  cheeks  emphasized  her 
look  of  youth ;  she  would  have  passed  for  a  school 
girl  who  lived  in  tennis  courts  and  found  keen  de 
light  on  the  links.  How  and  where  the  Governor 
could  have  known  her  was  a  matter  of  speculation, 
but  in  his  wanderings  just  such  a  charming  gipsy 
might  easily  have  captured  his  fancy.  The  Gov 
ernor  had  never,  not  even  in  the  presence  of  his  sister, 
been  so  wholly  the  gentleman  as  now.  He  was  enor 
mously  happy,  but  with  a  subdued  happiness.  He 
was  upon  his  good  behavior  and  Archie  was  satisfied 
that  he  would  in  no  way  abuse  the  hospitality  of  the 
house  he  had  entered  with  so  much  effrontery.  The 
girl  would  take  care  of  that  in  any  event.  The 
humor  of  the  thing  was  appealing  to  her,  and  her  eyes 
danced  with  excitement.  How  much  she  knew  about 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  197 

the  Governor  was  another  baffling  matter;  but  she 
knew  enough  at  least  to  know  that  his  appearance 
was  an  impudence  and  with  all  discretion  she  was 
enjoying  her  connivance  in  her  lover's  appearance. 
A  wise,  self-contained  young  person,  capable  of  ex 
tricating  herself  from  even  more  perilous  situations. 
Archie  liked  Ruth.  The  Governor  had  said  that 
she  was  a  bishop's  daughter  but  for  all  that  she  might 
have/ been  the  child  of  a  race  of  swarthy  kings. 

"You  couldn't  have  thought  that  I  would  wait 
when  I  knew  that  you  were  in  a  mood  to  tolerate  me 
or  that  I  might  serve  you!"  said  the  Governor 
gravely.  "If  our  presence  is  likely  to  prove  em 
barrassing  —  " 

"Oh,  Aunt  Louise  doesn't  know  the  names  of  half 
the  people  here.  She  never  goes  out  herself;  she 
merely  asked  old  friends  and  the  children  of  old 
friends.  I  really  didn't  want  this  party  for  I'm  here 
on  business,  and  it's  about  that  that  I  want  to  speak 
to  you,  please  1" 

"I  think,"  said  Archie,  ill  at  ease,  "that  the 
moment  has  come  for  me  to  retire." 

"We  shall  not  turn  you  adrift!"  cried  Ruth.  "I 
have  a  very  dear  friend  I  must  introduce  you  to. 
Oh  —  '  she  hesitated  and  turned  to  the  Governor, 
"is  Mr.  Comly  a  roamer  ?  Has  he  a  heart  for  high 
adventure  ? " 

"He  speaks  without  accent  the  language  of  all 
who  love  the  long  brown  road." 

"Then  let  him  come  with  me !" 

She  laid  her  hand  on  Archie's  arm,  and  walked 
toward  the  wide-flung  doors.  The  orchestra  was 
again  summoning  the  dancers. 

"Oh,  Isabel!" 


198      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

Following  her  gaze  he  was  glad  of  the  slight  pres 
sure  of  her  hand  on  his  arm.  Here  at  least  was  some 
thing  tangible  in  a  world  that  tottered  toward  chaos. 
For  it  was  Isabel  Perry  who  turned  at  the  sound  of 
Ruth's  voice.  She  was  just  at  the  point  of  gliding 
away  with  her  partner. 

"Miss  Perry,  Mr.  Comly!" 

The  eyes  that  had  haunted  him  in  his  wanderings 
flashed  upon  him,  then  narrowed  questioningly. 

"Oh,  Mr.  Comly !"  There  was  the  slightest  stress 
on  the  assumed  name.  "After  this  dance - 

She  slipped  away  leaving  him  staring. 

"Please  take  me  back  to  Mr.  Saulsbury,"  said 
Ruth.  "I've  got  to  cut  this  dance.  I  wih  Introduce 
you  to  some  other  girls." 

But  as  no  other  girls  were  immediately  available 
he  protested  that  he  would  do  very  well  and  guided 
her  to  the  Governor. 

"Isabel  is  very  busy,  as  usual,"  said  Ruth,  "but 
if  Mr.  Comly  is  a  good  strategist,  he  will  not  fail  to 
find  her  again.  Isabel,  you  know- 

"Isabel!"  exclaimed  the  Governor.  "Not 
really - 

"Yes,  really,"  Archie  answered,  his  voice  hoarse 
as  he  raised  it  above  the  music. 

The  Governor  struck  his  gloved  hands  together 
smartly.  Ruth,  turning  from  a  youth  to  whom  she 
had  excused  herself,  asked  quickly : 

"What  has  happened  ?  You  both  look  as  though 
you  had  seen  a  ghost." 

"It's  more  mysterious  than  ghosts.  Come;  we 
must  make  the  most  of  these  minutes.  Your  next 
partner  won't  give  you  up  as  meekly  as  that  last 
one  did." 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      199 

Archie  saw  them  a  moment  later  pacing  back  and 
forth  in  one  of  the  walks  a  little  distance  from  the 
house.  He  stationed  himself  at  the  door  with  some 
other  unattached  men,  and  followed  Isabel's  course 
over  the  floor  with  intent,  eager  eyes.  The  dance,  to 
a  new  and  enchanting  air,  was  prolonged  and  he  died 
many  deaths  as  he  watched  her,  catching  tantalizing 
glimpses  of  her  face  only  to  lose  it  again. 

No  one  in  the  happy  throng  seemed  gayer  than 
she;  and  once  as  she  tripped  by  he  assured  himself 
that  there  was  no  hostility  in  the  swift  glance  she 
gave  him.  Seeing  her  again  filled  him  with  a  great 
happiness  untinged  with  bitterness.  Among  all  the 
women  of  the  bright  company  she  alone  was  superb, 
and  not  less  regal  for  his  remembrance  of  her  anger, 
the  anger  that  had  brought  tears  to  her  lovely  eyes. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  number,  she  remained,  to 
his  discomfiture,  at  the  farther  end  of  the  platform, 
and  when  he  hurried  forward  in  the  hope  of  detach 
ing  her  from  the  group  that  surrounded  her  she  did 
not  see  him  at  all,  which  was  wholly  discouraging. 
A  partner  sought  her  for  the  next  dance  and  as  the 
music  struck  up  he  made  bold  to  accost  her. 

"I  am  not  to  be  eluded  !"  he  said.  "I  must  have 
at  least  one  dance!" 

"My  card  is  filled  —  but  I  am  reserving  a  boon 
for  you !  You  shall  have  the  intermission,"  and 
added  as  by  an  afterthought,  "Mr.  Comly,"  with  a 
delicious  mockery. 

He  passed  Ruth,  returning  to  put  herself  in  the 
path  of  her  next  partner. 

"This  is  your  punishment  for  coming  late  I" 
laughed  the  girl.  There  was  happiness  in  her  eyes. 
"How  perfectly  ridiculous  you  two  men  are!" 


200  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"Suppose  we  talk  a  bit,"  said  the  Governor  when 
they  had  found  a  bench  on  the  lawn.  He  was  silent 
for  several  minutes,  sitting  erect  with  arms  folded. 

"It's  nearing  the  end!"  he  said  solemnly;  "there 
are  other  changes  and  chances  perhaps,  but  the  end 
is  in  sight.  The  whole  thing  was  unalterable  from 
the  beginning;  it  makes  little  difference  what  we 
do  now.  And  it's  you  —  it's  you  that  have  brought 
it  all  about.  We  are  bound  together  by  ties  not  of 
earthly  making." 

He  laughed  softly,  turned  and  placed  his  hand  on 
Archie's  shoulder. 

"You  are  beginning  to  believe  at  last?" 

"I  don't  know  what  to  believe,"  Archie  answered 
slowly.  "There's  something  uncanny  in  all  this. 
Just  how  much  do  you  understand  of  it  ?" 

"Precious'  little!  Your  Isabel  and  my  Ruth  are 
friends;  quite  intimate  friends  indeed.  In  college 
together,  I'd  have  you  know,  but  I  never  knew  it  till 
now.  That's  news  to  you,  isn't  it?" 

"Most  astonishing  news!" 

"And  this  is  the  very  Isabel  who  shattered  your 
equanimity;  told  you  to  shoot  up  the  world  and 
then  treated  you  like  a  pick-pocket  the  next  time 
you  met !  But  as  old  William  said  'Love  is  not  love 
that  alters  when  it  alteration  finds." 

"Don't  jump  at  conclusions  !  I  was  just  bragging 
when  I  gave  you  the  idea  that  there  was  anything 
between  us.  The  love's  all  on  my  side !  She  twitted 
me  about  my  worthlessness  that  night  in  Washing 
ton;  bade  me  tear  down  the  heavens.  And  it  oddly 
happened  that  from  that  hour  I  have  never  been  a 
free  man ;  I  have  done  things  I  believed  myself  in 
capable  of  doing." 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  3OI 

"You  did  them  rather  cheerfully,  I  must  say! 
But  on  the  whole,  nothing  very  naughty.  And  I'll 
prepare  you  a  little  for  what  I  prefer  you  should  hear 
from  Isabel  —  I  got  it  from  Ruth  —  you're  not  quite 
finished  yet  with  that  pistol  shot  in  the  Congdon 
house.  It  seems  to  be  echoing  round  the  world!" 


CHAPTER  FIVE 


"!N  spite  of  my  warnings  you  continue  to  follow 
me!"  said  Isabel  when  they  were  established  in  the 
supper  room. 

uAre  we  to  have  another  row?  I  don't  believe  I 
can  go  through  with  it." 

"No;  for  rows  haven't  got  us  anywhere.  And 
Ruth  whispered  to  me  a  moment  ago  to  be  very  nice 
to  you.  While  the  gentleman  on  the  other  side  of 
me  is  occupied  we  might  clear  up  matters  a  little." 

"It's  not  in  my  theory  of  life  to  explain  things;  I 
tried  explaining  myself  at  Portsmouth  and  again  at 
Bennington  but  you  were  singularly  unsympathetic. 
Please  be  generous  and  tell  me  why  you  were 
skipping  over  New  England,  darting  through  trains 
and  searching  hotel  registers  and  manifesting  un 
easiness  when  policemen  appeared.  You  recom 
mended  a  life  of  lawlessness  to  me  but  I  didn't 
know  you  meant  to  go  in  for  that  sort  of  thing  your 
self." 

"It  occurred  to  me  after  the  Bennington  interview 
that  I  might  have  been  unjust,  but  I  was  in  a  humor 
to  suspect  every  one.  When  you  said  you'd  shot 
Putney  Congdon  you  frightened  me  to  death.  Of 
course  you  did  nothing  of  the  kind  !" 

"This  is  wonderful  chicken  salad,"  he  said,  hastily. 

202 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  203 

"I  beg  you  to  do  it  full  justice.  The  people  about 
us  mustn't  get  the  idea  that  we're  discussing  homi 
cide.  Now,  to  answer  your  question,  I  had  shot  Mr. 
Putney  Congdon  and  in  edging  away  from  the  scene 
of  my  bloodshed  I  was  guilty  of  other  indiscretions 
that  made  me  chatter  like  a  maniac  when  I  saw  you. 
It  was  such  a  joke  that  you  should  turn  up  when  I 
was  doing  just  what  you  prescribed  for  me  as  a  cure 
for  my  ills.  I  am  quite  calm  now,  and  my  health  is 
so  good  that  when  the  waiter  brings  those  little 
pocket  rolls  this  way  I  shall  take  a  second  and 
perhaps  a  third." 

"  My  own  nerves  had  gone  to  pieces  or  I  shouldn't 
have  flared  as  I  did  at  Portsmouth  and  I  was  even 
more  irresponsible  when  I  saw  you  in  that  parlor 
car  at  Bennington." 

"You  saw  me  kiss  a  girl  on  the  train.  Miss 
Perry,  I  will  not  deceive  you  about  that.  She  was 
all  but  a  stranger,  and  I  had  assisted  her  to  elope. 
Her  husband  was  hiding  in  the  baggage  car." 

"He  would  have  thrown  himself  under  the  wheels 
if  he  had  witnessed  that  ardent  kissing !  I  confess 
that  I  hadn't  done  justice  to  your  fascinations.  And 
you  were  not  her  guardian,  or  anything  like  that?" 

"Certainly  not.  She's  a  dairy  maid  I  married  to 
a  diamond  thief  by  mistake.  My  ignorance  of 
women  is  complete.  Sally  Walker's  duplicity  wasn't 
necessary  to  convince  me  of  that  but  your  own  con 
duct  completely  crushed  my  vanity." 

"The  crushing  has  improved  you,  I  think.  Please 
don't  think  that  because  I  am  showing  you  so  much 
tolerance  I  am  wholly  satisfied  that  you  weren't 
trying  to  thwart  my  own  criminal  adventures. 
When  we  met  at  Portsmouth  I  was  trying  to  meet 


204  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

poor  Mrs.  Congdon  somewhere  to  help  kidnap  her 
little  girl!" 

"Edith  —  a  lovely  child,"  Archie  remarked,  and 
picked  up  the  napkin  that  slipped  from  her  knees. 
He  enjoyed  her  surprise.  "Please  don't  scorn  the 
ice  cream;  you  will  find  it  very  refreshing.  As 
you  were  saying  — " 

"If  I  hadn't  been  warned  by  Ruth  that  you  were 
to  be  trusted  in  this  business  I  should  begin  scream 
ing.  How  did  you  know  the  child's  name  ?  What 
do  you  know  about  the  Congdons  ?" 

"Volumes!  Let  my  imagination  play  on  your 
confession.  You  were  trying  to  find  Mrs.  Congdon 
and  whisk  the  child  away  to  your  camp,  when  I 
ran  into  you.  You  had  missed  connections  with  the 
mother  and  thought  I  was  trying  to  embarrass  or 
frustrate  you  ?  I  had  troubles  of  my  own  and  you 
couldn't  have  done  me  a  greater  wrong!" 

"Mrs.  Congdon  was  in  a  panic,  skipping  about 
with  the  children  to  avoid  her  husband ;  but  it  was 
really  her  father-in-law  who  was  pursuing  her. 
He's  a  miserly,  disagreeable  wretch !  I  came  here 
to  meet  Ruth,  who  is  an  old  friend  of  hers,  hoping 
she  might  be  able  to  deliver  the  little  girl  to  me  un 
detected.  I  met  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Congdon  once, 
several  years  ago,  at  a  dinner  in  Chicago,  but  I  can 
hardly  say  that  I  know  them.  Ruth's  to  be  the 
chief  councilor  of  my  camp  —  so  interested  in  my 
scheme  that  she  insisted  on  going  up  there  to  help 
me.  And  Mrs.  Congdon  thought  that  would  be  a 
fine  place  to  hide  her  Edith  while  the  family  rumpus 
was  on.  I  was  to  run  with  Edith  as  hard  as  I  could 
for  Heart  o'  Dreams,  my  girls'  camp,  you  know,  up 
in  Michigan." 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  205 

"How  stupid  I  am!  With  a  word  you  might 
have  made  unnecessary  our  two  altercations!" 

"The  matter,  as  you  can  see,  is  very  delicate, 
even  hazardous.  I  had  never  been  a  kidnaper  and 
when  you  saw  me  on  those  two  occasions  I  was 
terribly  alarmed,  not  finding  Mrs.  Congdon  where 
she  expected  to  be.  And  I  must  say  that  you  added 
nothing  to  my  peace  of  mind." 

"Please  note  that  I  am  drinking  coffee  at  mid 
night  !  I  shouldn't  have  dared  do  that  before  your 
cheering  advice  in  Washington.  We  have  but  a 
moment  more,  and  I  shall  give  you  in  tabloid  form 
my  adventures  to  date." 

It  was  the  Isabel  of  the  Washington  dinner  party 
who  listened.  She  was  deeply  interested  and 
amused,  and  at  times  he  had  the  satisfaction  of 
reading  in  her  face  what  he  hopefully  interpreted 
as  solicitude  for  his  safety.  He  confined  himself  to 
essentials  so  rigidly  that  she  protested  constantly 
that  he  was  not  doing  his  story  justice.  Of  the 
Governor  he  spoke  guardedly,  finding  that  Isabel 
knew  nothing  about  him  beyond  a  shadowy  im 
pression  she  had  derived  from  Ruth  that  he  was  a 
wanderer  who  had  charmed  her  fancy. 

"If  he  hasn't  told  you  of  the  beginning  of  their 
acquaintance,  I  must  have  a  care,"  said  Isabel. 
"He  and  Ruth  met  oddly  enough  in  a  settlement 
house  —  I  needn't  say  where  it  was  —  where  Ruth 
was  a  volunteer  worker.  Your  friend  turned  up 
there  as  a  tramp  and  she  didn't  know  at  once  that 
he  was  masquerading.  Afterward  he  threw  himself 
in  her  path,  most  ingeniously,  in  his  proper  role  of 
a  gentleman,  in  a  summer  place  where  she  was  visit 
ing,  and  that  added  to  the  charm  of  the  mystery.  I 


206  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

can  see  that  he's  very  unusual.  You've  told  me  more 
than  she  knows  about  him,  but  even  that  leaves  a 
good  deal  to  be  desired.  In  all  the  world  there's  no 
girl  like  Ruth;  there  must  be  no  question  of  her 
happiness !" 

"You  needn't  be  afraid.  In  spite  of  his  singular 
ways  I'd  trust  him  round  the  world.  We  can't 
stay  here  longer,  I  suppose;  there's  a  young  blade 
at  the  door  looking  for  you  now.  Is  there  any  way 
I  can  serve  you  ?" 

"Ruth  has  explained  all  that  to  Mr.  Saulsbury  by 
now.  She  felt  sure  that  he  would  help  ;  and,  believe 
me,  I  have  confidence  in  you." 

"The  first  thing  is  to  find  Edith  Congdon  and  you 
may  trust  us  for  that.  I  will  seize  this  moment 
to  say,"  he  added  quietly,  "that  you  are  even 
lovelier  than  I  remembered  you!" 

"You  are  very  bold,  sir!  You  wouldn't  have 
said  that  a  very  little  while  ago." 

"You  complained  once  that  I  wasn't  bold  enough  ! 
Now  that  I  come  to  you  red  handed  and  for  all  you 
know  with  stolen  silver  in  my  pocket,  you  can't 
complain  of  my  forwardness.  I  am  a  rascal  of  high 
degree,  as  you  would  have  me  be.  And  I  now  de 
clare  myself  your  most  relentless  suitor !  I  trust 
my  frankness  pleases  you  ?" 

"Your  adventures  in  rascality  have  added  to  your 
plausibility.  I  almost  believe  you  —  but  not  quite. 
You  seem  to  be  extremely  vulnerable  to  feminine 
blandishments.  There's  Sally,  the  milkmaid.  Re 
member  that  I  saw  you  kiss  her  with  rather  more 
than  brotherly  warmth.  Still,  I  suppose  you'd 
earned  some  reward  for  your  daring." 

"A  bluff  old    man-at-arms    ought  to  be  forgiven 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      207 

for  pausing  in  his  wild  career  to  kiss  a  pretty  lass 
at  the  wayside  !"  he  growled. 

His  mock-heroic  attitude  toward  his  exploits  kept 
her  laughing,  until  she  said,  quite  soberly : 

"Please  don't  think  I'm  so  awfully  frivolous,  for 
I  really  am  not.  And  to  be  sitting  in  a  place  like 
this  among  all  these  highly  proper  people  talking 
of  the  dreadful  things  you've  done  is  simply  ridic 
ulous.  When  I  undertook  to  hide  Edith  Congdon 
from  her  father  I  couldn't  see  that  there  would  be 
anything  wrong  in  it !  And  yet  I  would  have  been 
a  kidnaper,  I  suppose." 

"And  you've  cheerfully  turned  the  job  over  to 
me,"  he  said,  finding  it  now  his  turn  to  be  amused. 
"When  you  gave  me  your  warrant  to  destroy  all  the 
kingdoms  of  the  world  you  forgot  that  there  might 
be  unpleasant  consequences.  But  I  assure  you  that 
after  a  few  days  you  don't  care  much  !" 

"It's  so  deliciously  dreadful !  And  only  the  other 
day  you  were  in  mortal  terror  of  sudden  death. " 

"I've  forgotten  I  ever  had  a  nerve.  To  be  sure 
our  little  misunderstandings  nearly  broke  my  heart, 
but  now  that  you've  smiled  again  I'm  ready  for 
anything.  I  might  say  further  that  in  the  end  I 
shall  expect  my  reward.  If  there  are  other  men 
who  love  you  they  will  do  well  to  keep  out  of  my 
path.  W7e  shall  meet  somewhere  or  other  soon,  I 
hope!" 

"  From  what  you  say  of  your  friend's  faith  in  the 
stars  there's  no  use  planning.  I  shall  remain  here 
a  day  or  two  in  the  hope  of  hearing  from  Mrs. 
Congdon.  She  loves  her  husband  and  from  what 
Ruth  says  he's  really  devoted  to  her,  but  the  father- 
in-law  is  a  malicious  mischief  maker." 


208  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"If  I  shot  the  wrong  man  I  shall  always  deplore 
the  error.  I  hope  you  take  into  consideration  the 
fact  that  he  might  have  shot  me !  He  thought  he 
had  a  man  at  the  end  of  his  gun  when  he  popped 
away  at  the  mirror." 

"  I'm  ashamed  that  I  find  it  all  so  funny.  Shooting 
any  one  can't  really  be  a  pleasant  performance  for  a 
gentleman  of  your  up-bringing ;  and  yet  you  speak 
of  it  now  as  though  it  were  only  a  trifling  incident 
of  the  day's  work.  The  Marquis  of  Montrose 
would  certainly  be  vastly  tickled  if  he  knew  what  his 
little  rhyme  has  done  for  you." 

"The  Marquis  isn't  in  the  sketch  at  all;  it's 
far  more  important  that  you  should  approve  of 
me  in  every  particular.  You  spoke  of  buried  treas 
ure  at  that  never-to-be-forgotten  dinner  at  my 
sister's.  I've  kept  that  in  mind  as  rather  a  pretty 
prospect." 

"That  cousin  of  mine  is  a  great  nuisance.  He's  not 
only  bent  upon  finding  my  grandfather's  buried 
money,  but  he  thinks  he  is  in  love  with  me." 

"I  have  a  rival  then?"  asked  Archie,  with  a 
sinking  of  the  heart. 

"You  may  call  him  that,"  she  laughed.  "A  girl 
always  likes  to  think  there  are  others." 

"Your  camp  —  you  haven't  yet  told  me  how  to 
find  it?"  he  said  eagerly. 

"It's  a  girls'  camp,  you  know,  and  the  male 
species  is  rigidly  excluded.  But  Ruth  will  give  Mr. 
Saulsbury  full  particulars. " 

"Crusoe  found  a  footprint  in  the  sand!  By  the 
way,  did  my  sister  May  ever  find  a  summer  cottage  ? " 

"She  found  a  house  at  Cape  May,  which  is  much 
more  accessible  from  Washington  than  Bailey  Harbor. 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      209 

Do  you  imagine  you  can  ever  tell  her  all  youVe 
just  told  me  ?" 

"There  are  certain  confidences  permissible  between 
sisters-in-law,  so  it's  really  up  to  you!"  he  replied 
glibly.  "Don't  troubl-e  to  answer;  the  Governor's 
waiting  for  me." 

They  walked  back  to  the  hotel  in  the  best  of 
humor.  As  they  crossed  the  lobby  the  Governor 
suddenly  slapped  his  pockets  and  walked  to  the 
cigar  stand.  A  tall  man  in  a  gray  traveling  cap 
was  talking  earnestly  to  the  clerk,  meanwhile  spinning 
a  twenty-dollar  gold  piece  on  the  show  case.  The 
Governor  purchased  some  cigarettes  and  while 
waiting  for  change  nodded  to  the  stranger,  who 
absently  responded  and  began  tapping  the  coin  with 
the  handle  of  a  penknife. 

"Not  many  of  those  things  in  circulation  now 
adays,"  the  Governor  remarked,  thrusting  the  cigar 
ettes  into  his  pocket.  The  stranger  carelessly  in 
spected  the  two  gentlemen  in  evening  dress  and 
handed  the  coin  to  the  Governor. 

"What  d'ye  think  of  that  ?"  he  asked. 

The  Governor  turned  the  gold  disk  to  the  light 
and  then  flung  it  sharply  on  the  wooden  end  of  the 
counter,  where  it  rang  musically.  He  handed  it 
back  with  a  smile. 

"The  real  thing,  all  right !  Wish  I  had  a  couple 
of  million  just  like  it." 

"It's  a  good  thing  you  haven't!"  the  man  re 
marked  with  a  grin. 

He  resumed  his  talk  with  the  clerk,  speaking  in 
a  low  tone,  while  the  Governor  loitered  at  the  mag 
azine  counter.  Archie  went  to  the  desk  for  their 
keys  and  received  a  bundle  of  mail  for  Mr.  Sauls- 


210  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

bury,  who  walked  slowly  toward  him  apparently 
absorbed  in  the  periodical  he  had  purchased. 

"It  doesn't  seem  possible  we  can  lose!"  he  said 
when  they  reached  their  rooms.  "There  will  be 
cross-currents  yet ;  but  a  strong  tide  has  set  in, 
bearing  us  on." 

He  threw  the  magazine  with  well-directed  aim 
into  a  desk  in  the  corner,  and  meditatively  smoothed 
his  hat  on  his  sleeve. 

"That  chap  was  Dobbs,  a  Government  specialist 
in  counterfeiters,  and  that  twenty-dollar  piece  had 
almost  the  true  ring,  but  not  quite.  The  man  who 
turned  it  out  showed  me  the  difference  only  yester 
day.  Perky  ?  Certainly  !  He  said  Eliphalet  Congdon 
had  taken  a  bagful  to  pass  on  the  unwary.  The  old 
boy  had  changed  a  lot  of  them  in  New  England  and 
the  Government  is  not  ignoring  the  matter.  Eliphalet 
Congdon  presents  just  such  a  case  as  we  find  occa 
sionally  where  some  perfectly  sound  conservative 
country  banker  feels  the  call  of  the  wild  and  does  a 
loop  of  death  in  high  finance." 

"You  don't  think  old  man  Congdon  has  been  here 
lately?"  asked  Archie. 

"Only  a  day  or  two  ago  !  I  picked  that  up  while 
I  was  buying  my  magazine.  Congdon  bought  some 
stogies  at  the  cigar  stand  and  changed  that  twenty. 
We're  all  loaded  for  Eliphalet,  Archie.  After  you  told 
me  your  kidnaping  story,  I  telegraphed  to  Perky  for 
all  the  possible  places  where  the  old  man  might  be. 
Perky  has  ranged  the  country  with  him  and  from 
his  data  we  can  keep  tab  on  the  old  boy.  Dobbs 
knows  nothing  of  the  kidnaping ;  it's  the  gold  piece 
that  interests  him.  I  overheard  enough  to  know 
we're  on  the  right  track.  Eliphalet  Congdon  owns 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      211 

a  farm  in  Ohio.  Perky  spent  a  month  there  boring 
out  gold  pieces.  What  we've  got  to  do,  Archie,  is 
to  find  the  Congdon  child  and  turn  her  over  to 
your  Isabel  and  my  Ruth.  A  very  pretty  job,  de 
manding  our  best  attention." 

He  paced  the  floor  for  a  moment,  his  hands  thrust 
deep  in  his  trousers  pockets,  his  silk  hat  tipped 
rakishly  on  one  side  of  his  head. 

"A  strange  thing  is  happening;  something  the 
stars  gave  no  hint  of.  We're  being  driven  by  cir 
cumstances  utterly  beyond  our  control  from  the 
side  of  the  lawless  to  the  side  of  the  lawful  and 
benevolent.  In  spite  of  ourselves,  you  under 
stand!" 

"But  we're  not  leaving  here  until — " 

"You  were  about  to  say  that  we  can't  shake  the 
dust  of  Rochester  from  our  sandals  before  we've 
made  our  party  calls.  Alas,  no !  We  shall  not 
communicate  with  our  ladies  again.  First  we  must 
justify  their  confidence  in  us  and  find  the  Congdon 
child.  Our  wool  can  only  change  from  black  to 
white  when  we  have  performed  some  act  of  valor 
in  a  good  cause.  That  is  clearly  indicated  by  my 
latest  pondering  of  the  zodiacal  signs.  Let  me  say 
that  your  Isabel  is  beyond  question  a  girl  worth 
living  or  dying  for.  I  am  delighted  that  she  and 
Ruth  speak  the  language  of  those  of  us  who  love 
the  life  adventurous,  children  of  stars  and  sun.  I 
shall  be  up  early  to  make  a  few  discreet  inquiries 
as  to  the  recent  visit  of  Eliphalet  and  then  I  must 
buy  a  machine  powerful  enough  to  carry  us  far  and 
fast.  Luckily  I  brought  a  bundle  of  cash  for  just 
such  emergencies." 

"  But  a  day's  delay  can't  matter,"  Archie  pleaded. 


212  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"Every  hour  matters  when  the  woman  I  love  sets 
a  task  for  me.  It's  still  the  open  road  for  us,  Archie. 
Good-night  and  pleasant  dreams!" 

II 

The  new  car  proved  to  be  a  racer  and  the  Governor 
drove  it  with  the  speed  of  a  king's  messenger  bearing 
fateful  tidings.  Occasionally  from  sheer  weariness 
he  relinquished  the  wheel  to  Archie,  whose  dis 
position  to  respect  the  posted  warnings  against 
lawless  haste  evoked  the  Governor's  most  contemp 
tuous  criticism. 

"We  ride  for  our  ladies!  Let  the  constables  go 
hang!" 

Constables  were  not  to  Archie's  taste  but  now 
that  they  were  bent  upon  a  definite  errand  and  one 
that  promised  another  meeting  with  Isabel  at  the 
end  of  the  journey  he  shared  the  Governor's  zest 
for  flight.  It  was  a  joy  to  be  free  under  the  broad 
blue  arch  of  June.  Spring  is  a  playtime  for  fledgling 
fancy  but  in  summer  the  heart  is  strong  of  wing  and 
dares  the  heavens.  It  was  Archie  who  now  initiated 
vocal  outbursts,  striking  up  old  glee  club  catches  he 
hadn't  thought  of  since  his  college  days.  He  was 
in  love.  He  bawled  his  scraps  of  song  that  the  world 
might  know  that  he  was  a  lover  riding  far  and  hard 
at  the  behest  of  his  lady.  His  thoughts  skipped 
before  him  like  dancing  children.  The  life  he  was 
leading  was  not  the  noblest;  he  had  no  illusions  on 
that  score;  but  he  was  no  longer  a  loafer  waiting 
in  luxurious  ease  for  the  curtain  to  fall  upon  a  dull 
first  act  in  a  tedious  drama,  but  a  man  of  action, 
quite  capable  of  holding  his  own  against  the  world  ! 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      213 

"You've  caught  the  spirit  at  last!  We're  the 
jolliest  beggars  alive!"  exulted  the*  Governor. 

He  dropped  from  the  clouds  at  intervals ;  proved 
his  possession  of  a  practical  mind ;  received  tele 
grams  in  towns  Archie  had  never  heard  of  before,  and 
tossed  the  fragments  to  the  winds. 

"All  the  machinery,  the  intricate  mechanism  of 
the  underworld  is  at  work  to  assist  us  !  I  tell  you  as 
little  as  possible,  but  I  neglect  nothing.  All  com 
munications  in  cipher,  and  you  can  see  that  the 
telegraph  clerks  think  we  are  persons  of  highest 
importance." 

He  dashed  off  replies  unhesitatingly,  emphasizing 
the  urgency  for  their  prompt  despatch.  Skirting 
the  shores  of  Erie,  he  produced  from  a  hollow  tree 
a  bundle  of  mail,  wrapped  in  oil-skin.  Soiled  en 
velopes  with  the  addresses  scrawled  awkwardly  in 
pencil  were  reenclosed  in  brown  envelopes  neatly 
directed  in  typewriting  and  bearing  the  S.  S.  S.  P. 
in  one  corner.  The  humor  of  his  Society  for  the 
Segregation  of  Stolen  Property  tickled  the  Governor 
mightily  and  when  Archie  asked  what  would  happen 
if  these  packets  of  mail  went  astray  and  fell  into 
the  hands  of  post-office  inspectors,  he  displayed  one 
of  the  notes  which  consisted  of  a  dozen  unrelated 
words,  decorated  with  clumsy  drawings,  —  a  tree, 
a  bridge,  a  barred  window. 

"Only  twenty  men  out  of  our  hundred  million 
could  read  that !  Code  of  our  most  exclusive  circle. 
The  silly  wretch  has  been  raiding  country  banks  in 
the  middle  west  and  carried  his  playfulness  too  far. 
He's  in  jail  now  but  not  at  all  worried  —  merely 
bored.  He'd  safely  planted  his  stuff  before  they 
nabbed  him,  and  he  had  fixed  up  his  alibi  in  advance ; 


214  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

that's  the  import  of  that  oblong  in  the  corner,  which 
means  that  he  can  show  a  white  card  —  a  clean  bill 
of  health,  legally  speaking,  and  isn't  afraid." 

"  I  suppose  he  expects  you  to  find  the  stuff  and  turn 
it  into  non-taxable  securities,"  Archie  remarked 
ironically. 

"Precisely  the  idea!  But  I  may  not  be  able  to 
serve  him  there.  It  will  grieve  me  to  leave  the  boys 
in  the  lurch  ;  they've  confided  in  me  a  long  time." 

The  Governor  had  lapsed  into  moods  of  silence 
frequently  since  they  left  Rochester.  The  im 
minence  of  his  release  from  whatever  power  had 
dominated  him  might,  Archie  thought,  have  subdued 
him  to  this  unfamiliar  humor  with  its  attendant 
long  periods  of  sober  reflection.  The  meeting  with 
Ruth  had  worked  this  change,  he  believed,  no  longer 
marveling  at  the  fate  that  had  linked  their  lives  and 
their  loves  together.  But  the  hints  the  Governor 
let  fall  of  an  approaching  climacteric,  a  crisis  of 
significance  in  his  affairs,  filled  Archie  with  appre 
hension. 

"Don't  be  foolish!"  exclaimed  the  Governor, 
when  Archie  broached  the  matter.  "Haven't  I 
told  you  time  and  again  that  we  shall  stand  together 
to  the  end  of  the  trail !" 

This  was  in  a  town  where  they  paused  for  a  quick 
overhauling  of  the  car.  At  their  table  in  a  cafeteria 
he  rioted  in  figures  and  expressed  satisfaction  with 
the  results. 

"If  only  the  stars  continue  kind  !"  he  said. 

Nothing  was  to  be  gained  by  pressing  inquiries 
upon  a  gentleman  who  ordered  his  affairs  by  the 
zodiac.  At  Buffalo  the  Governor  made  earnest 
efforts  to  rent  a  yacht,  without  confiding  to  Archie 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  215 

just  what  use  he  expected  to  make  of  it.  No 
yachts  being  in  the  market,  the  Governor  set  about 
hiring  a  tug,  and  did  in  fact  lease  one  for  a  month 
from  a  dredging  company,  paying  cash  and  the 
wages  of  the  crew  in  advance,  and  reserving  an 
option  to  buy.  The  Arthur  B.  Grover  was  to  be  sent 
to  Cleveland  and  held  there  for  orders.  He  might 
want  to  negotiate  the  lakes  as  far  as  Duluth,  he 
told  the  president  of  the  company,  who  was  sur 
prised  and  chagrined  when  the  singular  Mr.  Sauls- 
bury  readily  accepted  a  figure  that  was  intended 
to  be  prohibitive.  The  Governor  was  proud  of  the 
tug  and  expatiated  upon  its  good  points,  which 
included  sleeping  quarters  for  the  men  and  a  nook 
where  the  captain  could  tuck  himself  away.  He 
deplored  his  previous  inattention  to  tugs ;  he  be 
lieved  more  fun  could  be  got  from  a  tug  like  the 
Arthur  B.  Grover  than  from  the  best  steam  yacht 
afloat. 

"We  must  be  ready  for  anything,"  he  remarked 
to  Archie.  "The  signs  point  to  a  disturbance  of 
great  waters,  and  there's  nothing  like  being  pre 
pared." 

At  Cleveland  Archie's  last  doubt  as  to  his  mentor's 
connection  with  the  underworld  of  which  he  talked 
so  entertainingly  was  removed.  Reaching  the  city 
at  midnight  the  car  was  left  at  a  garage  downtown, 
their  trunks  expressed  to  Chicago,  and  they 
arrived  by  a  devious  course  at  an  ill-smelling  board 
ing  house.  Here,  the  Governor  informed  him,  only 
the  aristocracy  of  the  preying  professions  were 
received. 

The  arrival  of  another  guest,  a  tall  man  of  thirty, 
who  had  been  taking  a  porch-climbing  jaunt  through 


216      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

mid-western  cities,  added  to  Archie's  pleasure.  In 
his  clubs  he  had  lent  eager  ear  to  the  tales  of  such  of 
his  acquaintances  as  had  slaughtered  lions  in  Africa, 
or  performed  fancy  stunts  of  mountaineering,  and 
more  lately  he  had  listened  with  awe  to  the  narratives 
of  scarred  veterans  of  the  Foreign  Legion ;  but  this 
fellow  "Gyppy,"  as  the  Governor  called  him,  who 
had  mastered  the  art  of  scaling  colonial  pillars  and 
raiding  the  second  story  chambers  of  the  homes  of 
honest  citizens,  seemed  to  Archie  hardly  less  heroic. 
" Gyppy"  recounted  his  adventures  with  a  kind  of 
sullen  humor  that  Archie  found  highly  diverting. 
He  sheepishly  confessed  that  the  net  reward  of  a 
fortnight  of  diligent  labor  in  his  specialty  was  only 
three  hundred  dollars.  The  Governor  was  very 
stern  with  "Gyppy,"  advising  him  to  abandon 
porch-climbing  as  a  hazardous  and  unprofitable 
vocation.  Archie  was  dragged  from  the  hardest  bed 
he  had  ever  slept  in  early  the  next  morning. 

"No  more  scented  soap!"  cried  the  Governor. 
"No  more  breakfast-in-bed  !  Here's  where  we  get 
down  to  brass  tacks  and  let  our  whiskers  flourish !" 
He  threw  a  rough  suit  of  clothes  on  a  chair  and  bade 
Archie  get  into  it  as  quickly  as  possible.  "Jam 
the  other  suit  into  your  bag  and  Wiggins  will  ship 
it  with  mine  to  a  point  we  may  or  may  not  touch. 
We  shall  leave  this  thriving  city  as  farm  hands  eager 
to  step  softly  upon  the  yielding  clod.  We  go  by 
trolley  a  little  way,  and  if  you  have  never  surveyed  the 
verduous  Ohio  Valley  from  a  careening  trolley  car 
you  have  a  joy  coming  to  you.  A  democratic 
conveyance;  plenty  of  chances  to  plant  your  feet 
in  baskets  of  fresh-laid  eggs  or  golden  butter !  But 
don't  assume  that  we  shall  ride  all  the  way;  it's 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  217 

afoot  for  us,  Archie !  We  shall  be  tramps  seeking 
honest  labor  but  awfully  choosey  about  the  jobs  we 
take!" 

An  ill-fitting  suit,  with  a  blue  flannel  shirt  and 
tattered  cap  completely  transformed  him.  He  sur 
veyed  himself  with  satisfaction  in  a  cracked  mirror 
while  urging  Archie  to  greater  haste. 

"We'd  cut  a  pretty  figure  on  Fifth  Avenue  now!" 
he  exclaimed,  delighted  to  see  Archie  apparelled  in  a 
suit  rather  less  pleasing  to  the  eye  than  his  own. 
"We'll  roughen  up  considerably  in  our  travels  and 
by  the  time  we  reach  Eliphalet  Congdon's  broad 
acres  he'll  never  recognize  us  as  gentlemen  he's 
met  before." 

"You  don't  expect  to  see  the  old  man,  do  you  ?" 
demanded  Archie  with  a  sinking  of  the  heart.  "I 
thought  we  were  going  to  find  that  little  girl  and 
hurry  with  her  to  Isabel's  camp  ?  This  tramping 
stuff  will  merely  cause  us  to  lose  time." 

"We're  not  going  to  lose  any  time.  I'm  as  anxious 
to  be  on  with  the  business  as  you  are ;  but  we're  not 
going  to  make  a  mess  of  it.  I've  got  some  ideas  I 
don't  dare  tell  you  about;  you  might  get  panicky 
and  run !  Steady,  Archie,  and  trust  the  Governor." 

Trusting  the  Governor  had  been  much  easier 
while  they  were  traveling  in  fast  motors  or  in  parlor 
cars.  The  trolley  with  its  frequent  stops,  the  prone- 
ness  of  the  plain  folk  to  lunch  upon  bananas  and 
peanuts  and  cast  the  skins  and  shells  thereof  upon 
the  floor  pained  Archie  greatly. 

The  first  night  they  slept  in  a  barn,  without  leave, 
begged  a  breakfast  and  walked  until  Archie  cried  for 
mercy. 

"What's  a  blistered  foot  more  or  less!"  cried  the 


21 8      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

Governor,  producing  an  ointment  which  he  forthwith 
applied  with  tenderest  solicitude. 

From  his  ingenuity  in  foraging  and  the  philosophy 
with  which  he  accepted  the  day's  vicissitudes,  Archie 
judged  that  his  companion  was  by  no  means  new  to 
the  road.  He  showed  the  greatest  familiarity  with 
the  region  they  traversed,  avoiding  farmhouses  where 
no  generosity  could  be  expected  by  the  tramping 
fraternity,  leading  the  way  through  quiet  woods 
to  "swimming  holes"  where  they  bathed  and  solaced 
their  souls.  They  must  not  get  ahead  of  their 
schedule,  he  explained.  When  Archie,  knowing 
nothing  of  schedules,  timidly  asked  questions  the 
Governor,  feigning  not  to  hear,  would  deliver  long 
lectures  on  Ohio  history,  praising  the  pioneers  of  the 
commonwealth,  and  enthusiastically  reciting  the 
public  services  of  her  statesmen. 

At  the  end  of  the  fourth  day  as  they  kicked  their 
heels  against  the  pier  of  a  bridge  that  spanned  the 
Sandusky,  watching  the  stars  slip  into  their  places  in 
the  soft  tender  sky,  the  Governor's  quick  ear  detected 
the  step  of  a  pedestrian  approaching  from  the  west. 

"Unless  we've  missed  a  turn  somewhere,  that's 
Perky.  A  punctual  chap ;  this  is  the  exact  time 
and  place  for  our  meeting  and  he  should  bear 
tidings  of  interest  in  our  affairs." 

The  man,  who  was  dressed  like  a  farm  laborer, 
responded  carelessly  to  the  Governor's  greeting,  and 
swung  himself  to  a  seat  beside  him  on  the  abutment. 

"The  young  brother  knows  the  wisdom  of  silence," 
remarked  the  Governor,  laying  his  hand  on  Archie's 
knee.  "It's  a  pleasure  to  bring  you  two  together. 
He  and  I  follow  the  leading  of  the  same  star.  What 
news  of  the  lamb  in  the  pasture  ?" 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  219 

As  though  taking  time  to  accommodate  himself  to 
the  Governor's  manner  of  speech  Perky  lighted  his 
pipe  and  flicked  the  match  into  the  river. 

"The  little  lamb  is  not  happy.  The  father  is 
expected  tonight.  I've  got  orders  to  chop  wood  while 
he's  on  the  reservation." 

"The  son  is  not  wise  to  the  metal  trick  and  you 
drop  into  the  background?" 

"The  true  word  has  been  spoken,  brother." 

"The  son  has  been  long  upon  the  road.  What 
caused  him  to  linger  ?" 

"A  broken  arm,  so  the  old  man  has  it ;  and  repairs 
have  been  made  in  a  hospital  at  Portland  by  the 


eastern  sea." 


The  Governor  dug  his  elbow  into  Archie's  ribs. 
Archie  caught  a  gleam.  Putney  Congdon  had  been 
in  a  hospital  recovering  from  the  bullet  wound  re 
ceived  at  Bailey  Harbor,  but  was  now  arriving  at 
his  father's  Ohio  farm,  where  his  child,  the  lamb 
referred  to,  was  concealed.  Putney  was  to  be  kept 
in  ignorance  of  the  lure  of  the  tampered  coins  that 
had  brought  Perky  into  alliance  with  his  father, 
and  Perky  was  to  interest  himself  in  wood-chopping 
during  the  son's  visit.  In  the  privacy  of  the  bridge 
with  only  an  uninterested  river  for  auditor,  there 
seemed  to  be  no  reason  why  these  matters  should 
not  be  discussed  openly ;  but  the  Governor  evidently 
enjoyed  these  veiled  communications,  though  it  was 
clear  that  Perky  found  difficulty  in  fashioning  the 
responses. 

"Is  there  work  in  the  fields  for  willing  hands? 
Shall  we  find  welcome  as  laborers  keen  for  the 
harvest?"  asked  the  Governor. 

"The  slave  driver  weeps  for  lack  of  help  and  the 


220      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

pay  is  high.  You  will  be  welcome.  When  the  sun 
makes  its  shortest  shadow  tomorrow  you  will  sign 
papers  for  the  voyage." 

This  penetrated  to  Archie's  consciousness  as 
assurance  that  he  and  the  Governor  would  find 
employment  on  Eliphalet's  farm,  where  Edith 
Congdon  was  being  concealed  from  her  mother,  and 
that  the  most  fortunate  time  to  apply  for  employ 
ment  was  at  noon  the  next  day. 

"The  lamb  must  be  carried  to  more  northern 
pastures.  We  must  guard  against  snares  and 
pitfalls." 

"The  old  ram  is  keen  but  only  one  eye  may  be 
used  at  a  knot-hole.  He  suspects  nothing.  We 
have  spoken  enough  ?" 

"Longer  speech  would  be  a  weariness;  you  may 
leave  us." 

Perky  waited  for  a  motor  to  clatter  over  the  bridge 
and  with  a  careless  "So  long!"  walked  away  whis 
tling. 

"A  pretty  decent  chap,  that,"  remarked  the 
Governor,  "with  a  highly  developed  bump  of  dis 
cretion.  A  man  I  hope  to  see  with  his  feet  on  honest 
earth  when  I  leave  the  road.  There  must  be  no  slip, 
Archie.  The  responsibilities  of  the  next  fortnight 
are  enormous.  The  happiness  of  many  people 
depends  upon  us.  We'll  stroll  back  to  that  big 
farm  we  passed  awhile  ago.  It's  starred  in  the  official 
guide  books  of  the  dusty  ramblers  and  the  milk  and 
bread  and  butter  there  will  be  excellent.  And  the 
barn  is  red,  Archie !  A  red  barn  is  the  best  of  all 
for  sleeping  purposes.  An  unpainted  barn  advertises 
the  unthrift  of  the  owner,  and  the  roof  is  always 
leaky.  The  scent  of  moldy  hay  is  extremely  offensive 


BLACKSHEEP !  BLACKSHEEP !      221 

to  me  —  suggests  rheumatism  and  pneumonia.  And 
a  white  barn  stares  at  you  insolently.  Whenever 
I  see  a  white  barn  I  prepare  for  bad  luck.  But  a 
red  barn,  Archie,  warms  the  cockles  of  your  heart. 
It  enfolds  you  like  a  canopy  of  dreams  1  I  wouldn't 
have  the  red  too  glaring;  —  a  certain  rustiness  of 
tint  is  desirable — " 

"Here  endeth  the  lecture,"  Archie  interrupted. 
"I  am  starving  in  a  land  of  milk  and  honey.  Do  I 
understand,"  he  asked  as  they  crossed  the  bridge, 
"that  tomorrow  we're  going  to  find  jobs  on 
Eliphalet's  plantation  and  kidnap  his  grand 
daughter  ?" 

"Much  as  I  hate  to  anticipate,  Archie,  it's  not 
only  little  Edith  we're  going  to  kidnap !  We're 
going  to  steal  the  old  man  too !" 

Ill 

"I  never  saw  a  tramp  yet  that  was  worth  his 
breakfast,"  snarled  Grubbs,  the  foreman  of  Elipha- 
let  Congdon's  farm.  "But  don't  you  bums  think 
y'  can  loaf  round  here.  It's  goin'  t'  be  work 
from  now  right  through  till  the  wheat's  cut.  Jail 
birds,  both  on  y',  I  bet.  Well,  there  ain't  nothin' 
round  here  to  steal.  Y'  can  both  sleep  in  the  hands' 
house  back  yonder  and  hop  to  meals  when  the  bell 
rings.  There's  some  old  hats  in  the  barn  ;  shed  them 
pies  y'  got  on  yer  heads  and  try  t'  look  like  honest 
men  anyhow." 

They  partook  of  the  generous  midday  meal 
provided  in  a  big  screened  porch  adjoining  the 
kitchen.  Half  a  dozen  other  laborers,  regularly 
attached  to  Eliphalet's  section  of  rich  land,  eyed  the 


222  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

newcomers  with  the  disdain  born  of  their  long  tenure. 
Perky  was  a  capital  actor;  no  one  would  have 
imagined  that  he  had  ever  seen  either  of  the  new 
hands  before.  In  the  near-by  fields  the  wheat 
shimmered  goldenly  in  the  sun,  quivering  into  the 
perfection  that  would  bring  it  under  the  knife  a 
few  days  later.  Help  was  scarce  and  the  scorn  of  the 
foreman  was  assumed.  He  had  every  intention  of 
clinging  to  the  latest  comers,  inexperienced  vaga 
bonds  though  they  might  prove,  until  the  pressing 
need  was  passed. 

The  Governor  was  set  to  work  with  two  other 
men  ripping  out  an  old  rail  fence  and  replacing  it 
with  wire.  Archie's  task  was  the  rather  more  dis 
agreeable  one  of  trundling  gravel  in  a  wheelbarrow 
and  distributing  it  in  holes  staked  for  his  guidance 
in  the  road  that  ran  from  the  highway  gate  to  the 
barn.  The  holes  were  small ;  it  seemed  to  Archie 
absurd  to  spend  time  filling  such  small  cavities ; 
and  a  wheelbarrow  filled  with  gravel  is  heavy. 
The  foreman  explained  the  job  and  departed, 
reappearing  from  time  to  time  for  the  pleasure  of 
criticizing  Archie's  work.  When  Archie  suggested 
that  there  would  be  an  economy  of  time  in  loading 
the  gravel  into  a  wagon  and  effecting  the  distribution 
by  that  means  the  foreman  stared  at  him  open- 
mouthed  for  a  moment,  then  burst  into  ironical 
laughter. 

"Give  you  a  team  to  handle  —  you  !" 
The  thought  of  trusting  Archie  with  a  team  when 
teams  were  needed  for  much  more  important  matters 
struck  the  cynical  foreman  as  a  gross  impiety.  The 
humor  of  the  thing  was  too  tremendous  to  be  en 
joyed  alone;  he  yelled  to  a  man  who  was  driving 


BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP !  223 

by  in  a  motor  truck  filled  with  milk  cans  to  stop 
and  hear  the  joke.  Archie's  soul  burned  within 
him.  That  a  man  of  education  who  belonged  to 
the  best  clubs  on  the  continent  should  be  proclaimed 
a  fool  by  a  hatchet-faced  farmer  in  overalls,  before  a 
fat  person  on  a  milk  truck  was  the  most  crushing 
of  all  humiliations.  The  foreman  jumped  on  the 
truck  and  rode  away,  and  Archie  bent  his  back  to 
the  barrow,  resolving  that  never  again  would  he 
complain  of  bumps  in  a  road  now  that  he  knew  the 
heart-breaking  and  back-breaking  labor  of  road^ 
mending. 

On  the  whole  he  did  a  good  job  ;  it  was  remarkable 
how  interested  one  could  become  in  so  contemptible 
a  task.  He  tamped  the  gravel  into  the  holes  with 
the  loving  care  of  a  dentist  filling  a  tooth,  and  struck 
work  with  reluctance  when  the  bell  sounded  for 
supper. 

The  Governor  was  already  on  terms  of  comradeship 
with  his  fellow  toilers,  and  as  they  splashed  in  the 
basins  set  out  on  a  long  plank  near  the  kitchen, 
his  quips  kept  them  laughing.  Two  college  boys 
had  just  arrived  to  aid  in  the  harvesting.  Farmers 
are  not  much  given  to  humor  and  the  young  fellows 
were  clearly  pleased  to  find  a  jester  on  the  premises. 
At  the  supper  table  the  Governor  gave  his  conversa 
tional  powers  free  rein.  This  was  the  only  life ;  he 
had  rested  all  winter  so  that  he  might  enjoy  farm  life 
the  more.  He  subjected  the  collegians  to  a  rigid 
examination  in  Latin,  quizzed  them  in  physics  and 
promised  the  whole  company  a  course  of  lectures  on 
astronomy. 

Perky  strolled  away  in  one  direction  ;  the  Governor 
in  another  and  Archie,  left  to  his  own  devices,  fumed 


224      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

at  this  desertion.  The  two  would  meet  somewhere 
and  plan  the  next  strategic  move,  Archie  surmised, 
and  he  was  irritated  to  find  himself  denied  a  place 
in  their  councils.  He  refused  an  invitation  to  sit  in 
at  a  poker  game  that  was  being  organized  in  the  farm 
hands'  house  and  wandered  idly  about  the  premises. 
The  residence  was  a  two-story  farmhouse,  with  a 
broad  veranda  evidently  quite  recently  added.  As 
Archie  passed  the  windows  he  noted  that  the  rooms 
were  handsomely  furnished.  This  was  not  an 
establishment  where  the  employees  were  admitted  to 
social  intercourse  with  the  family  of  the  owner.  As 
Archie  stole  by,  the  voices  from  the  veranda  sounded 
remote  as  from  another  world.  An  aristocrat  by 
birth  and  training,  he  found  here  a  concrete  lesson  in 
democracy  that  disturbed  him.  The  world  was  not 
all  club  corners  and  week-end  parties.  For  a  few 
hours  at  least  he  was  earning  his  bread  by  the  sweat 
of  his  face  —  a  marvelous  experience  —  and  feeling 
very  lonesome  indeed  at  the  end  of  his  day's  labor. 

"I  don't  want  to  stay  with  papa;  I  want  to  see 
mama!" 

A  child's  voice  plaintively  uttering  this  as  he 
slunk  round  the  house  reminded  him  of  the  real 
nature  of  his  sojourn  on  Eliphalet  Congdon's  acres. 

"Papa's  sick;  you  must  be  nice  to  your  papa. 
You  must  help  him  to  get  well,  and  then  you  can  see 
your  mama!" 

Through  the  parlor  windows  he  saw  the  stolen 
Edith  rebelliously  confronting  the  tall  woman  who 
had  been  a  party  to  the  kidnaping  in  Central 
Park. 

Eliphalet  Congdon  entered  the  room  clutching  a 
newspaper  and  Archie  heard  him  exclaim  angrily : 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  225 

"You  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself,  Edith. 
Your  papa's  just  come  and  is  sick  and  tired  and  your 
fretting's  keeping  him  awake.  Take  her  upstairs, 
Sarah,  and  put  her  to  bed." 

As  he  surveyed  the  upper  windows  he  caught  a 
glimpse  of  a  woman  in  a  trained  nurse's  uniform. 
Putney  Congdon  was  established  on  the  farm  and 
though  it  was  nearly  three  weeks  since  the  fateful 
night  at  Bailey  Harbor,  he  was  still  feeling  the  effects 
of  his  injury.  Afraid  of  being  caught  loitering  Archie 
hurried  down  to  the  meadow  that  stretched  away 
from  the  house  and  stumbled  into  a  flock  of  sheep. . 

He  left  the  sheep,  rather  envying  their  placid 
existence,  and  was  on  his  way  to  the  laborers'  shack 
when  the  Governor  stepped  into  his  path. 

"Mooning?  Perky  and  I  have  been  smoking  our 
pipes  off  yonder  in  the  woods.  He's  as  sore  as  a 
boil  because  Putney's  blown  in  and  he's  got  to  make 
a  feint  at  honest  labor.  Perky  has  a  very  delicate 
touch  with  the  tools  of  his  trade  and  he'd  just  got 
his  laboratory  fixed  up  in  the  garret  where  he's  been 
doctoring  gold  pieces  to  beat  the  band.  He  says 
old  Eliphalet  is  more  and  more  delighted  with  his 
work.  The  more  he's  delighted  the  better  the  sport 
for  us." 

"I  don't  see  where  the  sport  comes  in!"  said 
Archie  testily,  pausing  at  the  fence  of  the  chicken 
yard.  "It's  a  long  way  to  that  camp  in  Michigan 
where  we've  got  to  take  the  child ;  and  you  needn't 
think  it's  going  to  be  so  easy.  The  old  man  will  be 
hot  after  us.  Putney's  still  got  a  nurse  looking  after 
him,  but  if  he's  traveled  this  far  he's  not  going  to  let 
go  of  the  little  girl  without  a  fight.  You've  got  to 
take  this  thing  seriously ;  a  mistake  will  be  fatal  and 


226      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

after  all  I've  gone  through  I  don't  just  relish  making 
a  mess  of  it." 

"Make  a  wish!"  cried  the  Governor.  "There 
goes  a  star  sliding  merrily  toward  the  Pacific." 

But  a  shower  of  meteors  would  not  have  stopped 
Archie's  questions  as  to  the  manner  in  which  Edith 
Congdon  was  to  be  snatched  from  her  grandfather's 
farm  in  Ohio  and  transferred  to  the  inland  seas.  He 
resented  his  exclusion  from  the  conference  with 
Perky  and  said  so. 

"My  dear  boy,  suspense  is  good  for  the  soul; 
I'm  merely  cultivating  in  you  the  joy  of  surprise. 
The  discipline  of  waiting  will  sharpen  your  wits, 
which  is  important,  as  I  mean  to  honor  you  with 
considerable  responsibility  and  leave  you  here  when 
I  depart,  which  will  be  tonight  as  dewy  eve  spreads 
her  sparkling  robe  — " 

"Leave  me  here!  My  God,  man,  I'm  not  going 
to  be  stranded  in  this  wilderness  !  You've  lost  your 
senses  if  you  think  you  can  shake  me  now  and  leave 
me  to  get  pinched  and  do  time  for  your  foolishness  !" 

"Patience,  little  brother,  and  not  quite  so  vo 
ciferous  !  You  have  a  good  natural  voice  with  strong 
carrying  powers  but  it  shows  a  sad  lack  of  cultivation. 
This  much  will  I  impart :  tomorrow  morning  Perky 
will  whisper  to  Eliphalet  that  the  Government  is  wise 
to  the  gold  piece  trick  and  that  they  are  watched. 
The  old  boy  will  be  scared  to  death  —  his  son  on  the 
place  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  besides  the  chance 
of  facing  a  hard-hearted  Federal  judge  for  tampering 
with  the  Republic's  coin.  Perky  will  throw  a  scare 
into  him  that  will  stand  him  on  his  head  and  then 
he'll  advise  him  to  beat  it  and  the  old  chap  will 
throw  his  arms  around  Perky's  neck  and  beg  for 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      227 

protection.  And  Perky,  with  a  reputation  for  never 
deserting  a  pal,  will  seize  him  firmly  by  the  hand  and 
away  they'll  go." 

"Where  will  they  go  ?"  Archie  demanded  tartly. 

"That  would  be  telling!  Let  it  suffice  that  they 
depart  in  some  haste.  Next  I  take  the  little  girl 
into  my  care  and  start  for  the  camp.  You,  Archie, 
will  remain  here  to  watch  Mr.  Putney  Congdon." 

"  I  didn't  come  here  with  you,  did  I  ?  They  won't 
suspect  me  of  complicity  or  anything  —  oh,  no!" 
moaned  Archie. 

"  Bless  you,  my  boy,  I'm  far  less  stupid  than  you 
think.  I'm  leaving  here  at  once  and  the  little  girl 
will  be  carried  off  with  all  circumspection.  My 
lines  of  communication  are  working  splendidly  and 
some  of  the  keenest  wits  in  the  underworld  are  as 
sembling  here  and  there  to  assist  in  my  various  enter 
prises.  The  part  I'm  assigning  you  flatters  your 
intelligence.  You  are  to  watch  Putney  Congdon  and 
follow  him  when  he  leaves." 

"Cut  that  rubbish  and  listen  to  me,"  said  Archie, 
his  voice  quavering  with  anger;  "you  can't  play  the 
fool  with  me  in  this  fashion.  You  mean  to  leave  me 
here  with  a  man  I  shot ;  and  you  think  I'm  going  to 
follow  him !  What  if  he  never  goes ;  what  if  he 
stays  all  summer !" 

"He  won't,"  the  Governor  answered.  "He's 
going  to  follow  that  child  of  his  if  it  leads  him  to  king 
dom  come.  If  you  want  to  see  your  Isabel  again, 
follow  Putney  Congdon.  You  will  of  course  be  a 
model  of  discretion,  but — ' 

"Do  you  mean  to  say  you'll  tell  him  where  you're 
taking  his  child  ?  If  I  didn't  know  you  for  a  sober 
man  I'd  swear  you'd  been  drinking!" 


228      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

"Never  more  sober  in  my  life,  Archie.  I  shall  not 
of  course  spoil  the  joy  of  the  kidnaping  by  taking 
Putney  into  my  confidence,  but  after  the  child's 
well  out  of  the  way  I  shall  send  him  a  wire  telling 
him  where  his  daughter  may  be  found  —  a  gentle 
hint,  but  sufficient  to  tease  his  curiosity." 

Archie  stamped  his  foot  in  impotent  fury. 

"You're  leaving  me  here  on  this  infernal  farm, 
with  a  man  I  shot  and  nearly  murdered !  And 
you'll  wire  him  where  you're  headed  for  when  you 
haven't  told  me !" 

"Steady,  lad;  steady!  Don't  forget  that  the 
underworld  is  a  labyrinth  of  mystery.  I'm  utilizing 
all  my  power  among  the  brotherhood  to  pull  off 
this  undertaking.  All  about  us-  'he  waved  his 
hand  —  "with  their  functions  duly  assigned,  are 
men  I  can  trust  and  who  trust  me  —  some  of  them 
utter  strangers  to  one  another  but  bound  by  the 
same  tie.  But  I'll  just  whisper  the  address  in  your 
ear  and  you'll  do  well  to  remember  it.  Heart 
o'  Dreams  Camp,  Huddleston,  Michigan ;  post-office, 
Calderville.  When  the  victim  of  your  ready  gun  rises 
from  his  couch  and  strikes  out  for  the  northwest  you 
will  not  lose  sight  of  him.  If  you  do  you'll  muddle 
everything.  Your  hand  baggage  has  been  planted 
safely  with  the  baggage  master  at  the  railway  station 
at  Tiffin,  seven  miles  from  where  we  stand,  and  here's 
the  check  for  it.  Once  more  you  shall  renew  your 
acquaintance  with  scented  soap.  Observe  my 
instructions  strictly,  Archie;  meet  all  difficulties 
with  a  confident  spirit  and  you  will  neither  stumble 
nor  fall.  Good-by  and  God  bless  you  !" 

The  Governor's  blessing  failed  to  dispel  the  gloom 
that  settled  upon  Mr.  Archibald  Bennett  as  he  crept 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      229 

through  the  shed  where  the  laborers  were  housed  and 
found  his  cot.  It  was  a  hot  humid  night,  with  the 
chirr  of  queer  insects  outside  mocking  with  weary 
iteration  the  lusty  snores  of  the  weary  farm  hands. 
He  might  bolt,  now  that  he  had  Isabel's  address,  and 
suffer  the  Governor  to  manage  in  his  own  fashion  the 
foolhardy  enterprises,  of  which  he  had  spoken  so 
lightly ;  but  to  do  this  would  be  only  to  prove  him 
self  a  deserter.  The  business  of  delivering  Edith 
Congdon  into  Isabel's  hands  was  his  affair  as  much 
as  the  Governor's.  And  having  twice  had  a  taste 
of  Isabel's  anger  his  appetite  was  sated.  To  win 
her  applause  he  must  appear  before  her  a  heroic 
figure,  but  the  part  the  Governor  had  assigned  him 
was  little  calculated  to  develop  his  chivalric  qualities. 
He  found  himself  warmly  hating  Putney  Congdon. 
If  Congdon  had  only  had  the  decency  to  die  there 
would  not  be  all  this  bother,  and  in  his  bitterness 
he  resolved  that  if  he  got  another  chance  he  would 
make  an  end  of  him.  Soothed  by  this  decision  he 
fell  asleep. 

IV 

The  morning  opened  auspiciously  with  a  raking 
from  Grubbs,  who,  finding  that  the  Governor  had 
decamped,  most  ungenerously  held  Archie  respon 
sible  for  his  departure. 

"I  swear  every  year,"  he  declared,  "I'll  never 
hire  another  tramp  and  hereafter  I'll  let  the  crops 
rot  before  I'll  have  one  on  the  place." 

Archie  replied  with  heat  that  he  knew  nothing 
about  the  Governor  or  the  reason  for  his  precipitate 
passing.  As  the  scolding  the  foreman  had  given  him 
the  day  before  still  rankled,  he  protested  his  ignorance 


230  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

of  the  Governor  and  all  his  ways  with  a  vigor 
strengthened  much  to  his  own  edification  by  oaths 
he  had  never  employed  before.  The  foreman, 
taken  aback  by  his  onslaught,  mumbled  and  then 
asked  humbly  as  though  ashamed  of  his  lack  of  con 
fidence  in  his  employee:  "Well,  you  two  landed 
here  together  and  I  thought  you  might  be  gettin' 
ready  to  play  the  same  trick.  Look  here,  d'ye  know 
anything  about  horses  ?" 

"Well,  I've  ridden  some,"  Archie  answered  guard 
edly,  fearing  the  imposition  of  some  disagreeable 
task  as  a  punishment  for  his  violent  language. 

"Ridden;  where  th'  hell  have  you  rode  ?" 

Archie's  knowledge  of  horses  had  been  gained  by 
cautious  riding  in  park  bridle  paths  with  a  groom, 
but  to  confess  this  would  be  only  to  increase  the 
wrath  and  arouse  the  suspicions  of  the  farmer. 

"Oh,  I've  always  been  around  horses,"  said 
Archie.  "I  guess  I  can  handle  'em  all  right." 

The  foreman  meditated,  gave  a  hitch  to  his 
trousers,  inspected  Archie  from  head  to  foot  and  spat. 

"Humph!  I  gotta  find  somebody  t'  watch  the 
old  man's  granddaughter  ride  'er  pony,  and  I  guess 
I'll  give  you  the  job  if  y'  got  sense  enough  to  set 
on  a  horse  and  keep  th'  kid  from  breakin'  'er  neck. 
What  y'  think  o'  that !  I  gotta  waste  a  horse 
right  now  when  I  could  use  a  dozen  more,  so  a  grown 
man  can  play  with  a  kid  !  The  old  man's  skipped 
this  morning  without  sayin'  whether  he'd  ever  be 
back  again!" 

"Mr.  Congdon  has  left?"  asked  Archie,  with  all 
the  innocence  he  could  muster. 

"Not  only  has  he  gone  but  he's  took  a  scrub  I 
was  usin'  as  handy  man  on  the  place.  You  can't 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      231 

beat  it !  There  ought  to  be  a  law  against  city  men 
ownin'  farms  an'  makin'  farmers  do  their  work." 

Archie  thought  this  sound  philosophy  and  he  ex 
pressed  his  agreement  heartily. 

"Well,  go  to  the  barn  and  clean  up  that  pony,  and 
clap  on  a  boy's  saddle  you'll  find  there ;  and  there's 
a  sorrel  mare  in  the  last  stall  on  the  left  you  can 
take.  The  kid'll  be  out  lookin'  fer  y',  and  y'  want 
to  take  mighty  good  care  of  'er ;  she's  the  ole  man's 
pet  and  he'll  kill  y'  if  anything  goes  wrong  with 
'er.  Keep  'er  out  about  an  hour  and  be  partickler 
careful.  Between  you  and  me  there's  somethin' 
queer  about  the  kid  bein'  here ;  row  o'  some  kind 
between  her  pa  and  ma.  Her  pa's  here  sick. 
Guess  all  them  Congdon's  got  something  wrong 
with  'emi" 

Archie  restrained  an  impulse  to  affirm  the  last 
statement  and  set  off  stolidly  for  the  barn.  He  felt 
himself  a  better  man  for  his  interview  with  the 
foreman,  who  proved  to  be  human  and  no  bad  fellow 
after  all.  His  appointment  as  groom  for  the  daugh 
ter  of  Putney  Congdon  was  only  another  ironic 
turn  of  fate.  The  child  might  remember  him  as 
the  man  who  had  rescued  her  balloon  in  Central 
Park,  but  in  his  shabby  clothes  and  with  his  face 
disguised  by  a  week's  growth  of  beard  this  was  un 
likely.  A  more  serious  matter  for  concern  was  the 
possibility  that  the  Governor  or  his  agents  might 
attempt  to  steal  her  away  from  him  while  she  was  in 
his  care.  But  so  far  in  his  stormy  pilgrimage  he 
had  gained  nothing  by  yielding  to  apprehensions 
and  he  whistled  as  he  rubbed  down  the  pony  and 
got  his  own  mount  ready. 

The  child  came  running  into  the  barn  lot  followed 


23  2  BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP ! 

by  the  woman  who  had  been  a  party  to  her  abduc 
tion,  and  danced  joyfully  toward  the  pony. 

"Edith  mustn't  stay  out  too  long;  an  hour  will 
be  enough  for  the  first  day.  And  please  keep  close 
to  the  gate.  You're  sure  you  understand  horses  ? " 

Archie  satisfied  her  on  all  points,  submitting  him 
self  to  her  critical  gaze  without  flinching.  In  his  big 
straw  hat  he  was  not  even  remotely  suggestive  of 
the  man  who  had  attempted  to  frustrate  the  seizure 
of  the  child  in  the  park.  In  her  ecstatic  welcome 
of  the  pony  Edith  hardly  gave  Archie  a  glance.  A 
riding  costume  had  been  improvised  for  her  out  of 
a  boy  scout's  suit,  and  with  her  curls  flying  under 
her  broad  hat  she  was  a  spirited  and  appealing 
figure.  The  woman  followed  them  down  the  lane 
to  the  road,  where  she  indicated  the  bounds  to  be 
observed  during  the  lesson.  The  pony  was  old 
and  fat,  and  only  with  much  urging  could  he  be 
brought  to  a  trot.  Archie  delivered  himself  of  all 
the  wisdom  he  could  recall  from  the  instruction  of 
his  riding  teacher  as  to  seat  and  carriage.  The 
companionship  of  the  child  cheered  him;  and  as 
they  patrolled  the  road  she  prattled  with  youthful 
volubility.  When  a  traction  engine  passed  towing 
a  threshing  machine  the  sorrel  mare  showed  her 
mettle  in  a  series  of  gyrations  that  all  but  landed 
Archie  in  a  fence  corner. 

Edith,  watching  him  with  trepidation,  cried  out 
in  admiration  of  his  horsemanship.  The  woman, 
satisfied  that  the  groom  was  really  a  master  horse 
man,  sat  down  on  the  grass  by  the  gate  to  read. 

Archie,  in  his  anxiety  to  save  the  child  from  mis 
hap,  had  given  little  attention  to  the  traffic  on  the 
road  until  he  awoke  to  the  fact  that  the  same  touring 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      233 

car  had  passed  twice  within  a  short  period.  It  was 
a  smart  vehicle  with  a  chauffeur  in  gray  livery  whose 
figure  tantalized  his  memory.  It  flashed  upon  him 
in  a  moment  that  this  was  either  the  Governor's  New 
York  chauffeur  or  some  one  who  bore  a  striking 
resemblance  to  that  person.  The  Governor  had 
hinted  at  the  summoning  of  many  assistants  to  aid 
in  his  undertaking,  and  it  was  not  at  all  unlikely 
that  he  had  drawn  upon  his  New  York  establish 
ment.  But  for  the  child  to  be  abducted  during 
the  progress  of  the  riding  lesson  might  lead  to  un 
pleasant  consequences  and  was  not  at  all  to  Archie's 
taste. 

The  woman's  attention  was  wholly  relaxed  and 
she  scarcely  glanced  up  as  he  passed  her.  There 
could  be  no  better  opportunity  for  the  seizure,  as 
the  laborers  were  widely  distributed  over  the  farm. 
A  stretch  of  woodland  opposite  the  Congdon  gate 
precluded  the  possibility  of  interruption  from  that 
quarter. 

The  gray-clad  chauffeur  passed  again,  this  time 
in  a  more  powerful  car.  He  made  no  sign  but 
Archie  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  Governor  busily 
talking  with  a  strange  man.  Convinced  now  that 
the  Governor's  plans  were  culminating  and  that  the 
car  was  making  these  circuits  of  the  farm  to  enable 
the  occupants  to  get  their  bearings,  Archie  awaited 
anxiously  the  next  appearance  of  the  machine. 
When  at  the  end  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour  it  shot  into 
view  he  was  at  the  farthest  point  from  the  gate 
indicated  by  the  woman  as  the  range  of  Edith's 
exercise. 

"That  girth  needs  pulling  up  a  little;  let's  dis 
mount  here,"  said  Archie,  drawing  up  under  a  tree 


234      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

at  the  roadside.  The  woman  was  deeply  pre 
occupied  with  her  book  and  apparently  oblivious 
to  the  traffic  on  the  road.  Archie  pretended  to  be 
having  trouble  with  the  saddle,  as  he  filled  in  the 
time  necessary  for  the  car  to  reach  him.  It  passed 
the  gate  more  rapidly  than  on  previous  occasions, 
but  slowed  down  at  once  and  a  familiar  voice 
greeted  him. 

"  Pardon  me,  but  is  this  the  road  to  Tiffin  ?  I'm 
afraid  we've  been  running  round  in  a  circle." 

"Straight  ahead!  And  I  suggest  that  you  be 
in  a  hurry  about  it!"  said  Archie,  seeing  that  the 
woman  had  risen  and  was  now  moving  rapidly 
toward  them.  The  Governor  stepped  jauntily  from 
the  running  board,  with  his  hands  thrust  into  the 
pockets  of  his  duster.  There  was  a  twinkle  in  his 
eyes  as  he  noted  Archie's  trepidation.  He  glanced 
toward  the  woman  indifferently,  removed  his  cap 
and  addressed  the  little  girl,  who  stood  beside  the 
pony  with  her  hand  on  the  bridle.  A  second  car 
drew  up  just  behind  the  Governor's  machine.  The 
woman  was  calling  loudly  to  Edith  to  come  to  her 
immediately. 

"Edith  —  Miss  Edith  Congdon,"  said  the  Gov 
ernor,  smiling.  "Your  mother  wants  you  very, 
very  much  and  I've  come  to  take  you  to  her.  If 
you  will  jump  into  the  car  you  will  see  her  very 
soon.  We  must  be  in  a  hurry  or  that  woman  will 
catch  you.  You  needn't  have  a  fear  in  the  world. 
Will  you  trust  me  ?" 

The  child  hesitated,  and  Archie,  enraged  at  the 
deliberation  with  which  the  Governor  was  managing 
the  abduction,  really  leaving  it  to  the  child  whether 
she  should  go  or  not,  saw  the  look  of  fear  she  bent 


We  must  be  in  a  hurry  or  that  woman  will  catch  you  " 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  235 

upon  the  approaching  woman  —  a  look  that  yielded 
to  wonder  and  amazement  and  hope  as  she  jumped 
nimbly  into  the  machine. 

At  the  same  moment  two  men  sprang  out  of 
the  second  car  and  rushed  at  Archie.  One  of  them 
flung  a  carriage  robe  over  his  head  and  twisted  it 
round  his  throat,  then  they  gathered  him  up,  head 
and  heels,  and  tossed  him  over  the  fence.  The 
thing  could  not  have  been  managed  more  neatly 
if  it  had  been  rehearsed.  The  Governor  leaned 
over  the  fence  and  gazing  upon  Archie,  wriggling 
in  a  patch  of  briars,  unconcernedly  recited  : 

"'She  who  comes  to  me  and  pleadeth 
In  the  lovely  name  of  Edith 

Shall  not  fail  of  what  was  wanted ; 
Edith  means  the  blessed,  therefore 
All  that  she  may  wish  or  care  for, 

Shall,  when  best  for  her,  be  granted  !'): 

The  two  cars  were  enveloped  in  a  cloud  of  dust 
when  Archie,  tearing  the  blanket  from  his  head, 
rose  to  confront  the  screaming  woman.  Twice 
he  had  seen  the  child  stolen,  and  the  first  occasion 
had  not  been  without  its  drama,  but  the  Governor 
had  made  of  the  second  the  sheerest  farce.  The 
woman  berated  him  roughly  for  his  stupidity  while 
he  attempted  to  explain. 

"The  man  who  talked  to  the  little  girl  knew  her 
-  called  her  by  name.  They've  probably  just 
gone  for  a  ride." 

This  only  increased  the  woman's  indignation 
and  he  roused  himself  to  placate  her. 

"I  had  better  run  to  the  house  and  telephone  to 
the  Tiffin  police,"  he  suggested. 


236  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

To  his  infinite  surprise  she  declared  in  alarm  that 
this  must  not  be  done ;  she  would  go  herself  and  tell 
the  child's  father  what  had  occurred  and  let  him 
deal  with  the  matter.  This  was  wholly  beyond 
his  comprehension  and  to  conceal  his  emotions  he 
fell  back  heavily  upon  his  role  of  the  country  bump 
kin,  complaining  of  imaginary  injuries  and  vowing 
that  he  would  have  the  law  on  the  men  who  assaulted 
him.  The  woman  glanced  carefully  about,  as  though 
to  make  sure  they  had  not  been  observed  and  then 
set  off  for  the  house.  She  took  several  steps  and 
then  turned  to  say : 

"Don't  talk  about  this  —  do  you  understand? 
You're  not  to  say  a  word  about  it.  I'll  see  Mr. 
Putney  Congdon  and  tell  him  just  how  it  happened." 

"But  if  the  police  should  ask  me  — " 

"  Don't  be  a  fool !  The  police  are  not  going  to 
know  about  this.  Those  were  Mr.  Putney  Cong- 
don's  orders  in  case  anything  like  this  happened. 
And  you  needn't  talk  to  the  other  hands  about  it 
either.  I'll  fix  the  foreman ;  all  you've  got  to  do  is 
to  keep  your  mouth  shut." 

Her  assumption  that  Mr.  Putney  Congdon  would 
not  be  greatly  aroused  by  the  abduction  of  his 
daughter  was  anything  but  clarifying.  Archie  re 
turned  the  pony  to  the  barn  and  was  sitting  in  the 
door  brooding  upon  the  prevailing  madness  of  the 
human  race  when  Grubbs  found  him. 

"Well,  it  certainly  beats  hell!"  the  man  re 
marked,  wiping  his  brow  with  the  back  of  his  hand. 

"There's  a  good  deal  in  what  you  say,"  Archie 
mournfully  assented.  "I  want  you  to  know  that 
it  wasn't  my  fault.  Those  fellows  —  there  were 
about  six  of  'em  —  jumped  on  me  and  tried  to 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  237 

choke  me  to  death  and  then  pitched  me  over  the 
fence  and  it  was  all  over  in  half  a  second.  I  apologize 
if  that's  what  you  expect." 

"I  don't  expect  a  damned  thing!  That  fool 
woman  said  I  wasn't  to  pester  you  about  it  as  you 
wasn't  to  blame,  which  makes  me  sore,  for  at  the  first 
jump  I  was  goin'  to  call  the  sheriff  and  turn  y' 
over.  But  from  what  she  says  we're  not  to  say  a 
word  —  not  a  word,  mind  y' !  Y'  can't  beat  it ! " 

"I  certainly  shan't  attempt  to  beat  it,"  replied 
Archie  sadly.  "  I'd  like  to  catch  a  March  hare  just 
to  tell  him  that  some  human  beings  are  a  lot  crazier 
than  he  is.  We  haven't  done  justice  to  the  intel 
lectual  powers  of  the  rabbit." 

The  foreman  blinked  but  the  remark  penetrated 
and  he  burst  into  a  loud  guffaw.  That  a  child 
should  be  picked  up  in  the  road  and  carried  away 
was  startling  enough  but  that  nothing  was  to  be 
done  about  it  was  so  egregious  that  words  failed  to 
do  justice  to  it.  It  was  only  eleven  o'clock  and  he 
told  Archie  that  he  might  spend  an  hour  at  the 
woodpile,  even  guiding  him  to  that  unromantic 
spot  and  initiating  him  into  the  uses  of  saw  and  ax. 


Three  days  in  the  harvest  field  brought  Archie 
to  a  new  respect  for  his  daily  bread.  He  found 
joy  in  the  discovery  that  he  had  strength  to  throw 
into  the  scale  against  man's  necessities.  He  was 
taking  a  holiday  from  life  itself;  and  he  was  con 
tent  to  bide  his  time  until  the  vacation  ended.  He 
was  passing  through  an  ordeal  and  if  he  emerged 
alive  he  would  be  a  wiser  and  better  man.  He 


238  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

planned  a  life  with  Isabel  that  should  be  spent 
wholly  in  the  open.  Cities  should  never  know 
him  again.  Isabel  lived  now  so  vividly  in  his 
mind  that  trifles  he  had  not  thought  of  in  their 
meetings  became  of  tremendous  importance;  fool 
ish  things,  lover's  fatuities.  There  was  a  certain 
grave  deliberation  of  speech,  more  deliberate  when 
the  sentence  was  to  end  in  laughter;  this  he  knew 
to  be  adorable.  There  was  the  tiniest  little  scar, 
almost  imperceptible,  over  one  of  her  temples ; 
it  was  the  right  one,  he  remembered.  An  injury  in 
childhood,  perhaps;  he  grieved  over  it  as  though 
he  had  seen  the  cruel  wound  inflicted.  And  she 
had  a  way  of  laying  her  hand  against  her  cheek  that 
touched  him  deeply  as  he  thought  of  it.  Her  hands 
were  the  most  wonderful  he  had  ever  seen ;  useful, 
capable  hands,  slim  and  long. 

When  he  thought  of  the  castigation  she  had  given 
him  in  those  dark  days  when  they  so  miserably  mis 
understood  each  other,  it  helped  to  remember  her 
hands;  they  were  hands  that  could  be  only  the 
accompaniment  of  a  kind  and  generous  heart.  There 
was  the  troublesome  cousin  who  loved  her;  but  he 
consoled  himself  with  the  reflection  that  she  would 
not  have  mentioned  the  man  if  she  had  really  cared 
for  him ;  and  yet  this  might  be  only  a  blind.  He 
would  have  an  eye  to  that  cousin.  The  buried 
treasure  he  hadn't  taken  very  seriously.  In  spite  of 
all  the  remarkable  things  that  had  happened  to  him 
he  still  had  moments  of  incredulity,  and  in  the  midst 
of  an  Ohio  wheatfield,  with  the  click  and  clatter  of 
the  reapers  in  his  ears  and  the  dry  scent  of  the 
wheat  in  his  nostrils,  to  dream  of  buried  gold  was 
transcendent  folly. 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  239 

Gossip  from  the  farmhouse  reached  him  at  the 
back  door  and  he  was  alert  for  any  sign  that  Putney 
Congdon  meditated  leaving.  Eliphalet  had  not 
returned ;  he  judged  that  Perky,  probably  in 
spired  by  the  Governor,  had  frightened  the  old 
man  into  taking  a  long  journey.  The  woman  who 
had  cared  for  Edith  had  left ;  he  got  that  direct 
from  Grubbs,  who  poured  out  confidences  freely 
as  they  smoked  together  after  the  twilight  supper. 

"Say,  I  guess  I  sized  you  up  all  wrong.  You 
don't  act  like  a  bum  at  all;  I  guess  you  and  me 
might  rent  a  farm  round  here  somewhere  and  make 
some  money  out  of  it  next  year.  You're  the  first 
hobo  I  ever  saw  who  could  do  a  day's  work  without 
cryin'." 

The  queer  ways  of  the  Congdons  had  not  been 
referred  to  between  them  until  the  third  evening, 
when  they  took  counsel  of  their  tobacco  apart  from 
the  other  men,  sprawling  on  t,he  grass  in  a  friendly 
intimacy  that  Archie  found  flattering.  A  plain, 
hard-fisted  farmer  liked  him  and  showed  a  preference 
for  his  society ;  the  thing  was  unbelievable. 

"I  get  it  through  the  kitchen  that  the  old  man's 
son's  goin'  to  clear  out  tonight.  Orders  was  sent 
to  have  a  machine  ready  to  take  him  to  town  at 
eleven  o'clock.  Guess  there  was  nothing  the  matter 
with  him  nohow  —  y'  know  what  these  rich  young 
fellas  are,  and  they  say  the  old  man's  worth  a  mint. 
The  idea  of  a  big  grown  man  havin'  a  nurse  take 
care  of  him  makes  me  sick.  I  ain't  seen  that  fella 
since  he  came.  Telegram  phoned  out  this  evenin' 
made  'im  jump  out  o'  bed,  they  say,  and  he's  off 
for  somewhere  tonight.  Sees  a  chance  to  make 
a  lot  of  money  most  likely." 


240  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEPf 

Archie  cautiously  changed  the  subject,  but  he 
was  already  planning  his  departure.  The  Gov 
ernor  had  bidden  him  follow  Congdon  and  here 
were  his  marching  orders.  The  prospect  of  play 
ing  the  spy  upon  Congdon  had  grown  no  less  dis 
agreeable  since  the  Governor  had  told  him  that 
this  was  to  be  his  next  duty.  The  only  thing  that 
reconciled  him  to  the  unattractive  task  was  the 
assurance  that  Congdon  would  set  out  at  once  for 
Heart  o'  Dreams  Camp,  where  Isabel  presumably 
was  now  established.  To  bother  himself  further 
with  the  Congdons  was  not  to  his  liking;  he  had 
ceased  wishing  that  he  had  killed  Putney;  he 
wished  now  that  the  whole  family  were  at  the  other 
side  of  the  world  where  they  wouldn't  so  persist 
ently  interfere  with  his  affairs. 

Grubbs  complained  bitterly  because  upon  him 
fell  the  duty  of  getting  Putney  into  town  to  catch 
a  west-bound  train  at  midnight. 

"You'd  think  we  run  a  taxi  joint  here!  Where 
am  I  goin'  to  get  a  night's  rest,  I'd  like  to  know!" 

With  the  seven-mile  tramp  to  town  before  him 
Archie  was  unable  to  sympathize  with  Grubbs' 
longing  for  slumber.  He  left  the  foreman  tinker 
ing  the  machine  in  which  Putney  was  to  be  borne  to 
the  station,  changed  his  hat  for  his  cap  and  stole 
out  of  the  sleeping  quarters  to  the  road. 

The  thought  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  Isabel 
lightened  his  step,  and  he  trudged  along  with 
frequent  invocations  of  the  stars.  He  carried 
nothing  in  his  pockets  but  the  sealed  address  the 
Governor's  sister  had  given  him;  the  verse  in 
Isabel's  writing,  and  a  roll  of  bills  the  Governor 
had  pressed  upon  him  when  they  parted. 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  241 

Reaching  town,  he  found  himself  with  an  hour  to 
spare.  He  got  his  bag  from  the  station  and  bought 
a  ticket.  There  was  only  one  upper  available,  said 
the  agent  with  the  usual  optimistic  suggestion  of 
ticket  agents  that  something  better  might  be  found 
when  the  train  came  in.  He  spent  half  an  hour  at 
a  hotel  cleaning  up  and  changing  to  the  clothing 
he  had  discarded  at  Cleveland. 

.  .  .  Grubbs  carried  Putney's  luggage  across  the 
platform  with  dogged  stride,  passing  Archie  with 
out  a  sign  of  recognition.  He  was  followed  by  a 
tall  man  in  a  gray  suit  whose  left  arm  was  supported 
by  a  sling.  Grubbs  took  hasty  leave  and  the  two 
travelers  were  left  alone. 

"A  warm  night,"  Congdon  remarked. 

Archie  agreed  to  this,  a  trifle  huskily.     Congdon 
was  not  a  bad  looking  fellow;   his  tone  and  manner,   ' 
and  his  face,   as  revealed   by  the  platform  lights, 
encouraged  the  belief  that  he  was  a  gentleman. 

"No  red  caps  here,  I  suppose,"  said  Congdon 
with  a  glance  toward  the  station. 

"I  fancy  not,"  Archie  replied.  "I'll  be  glad  to 
help  you  with  your  bags." 

"Oh,   thank  you!     I   have   a  game  shoulder, - 
nearly  well  now,  but  it  gives  me  a  twinge  occasionally. 
The  train's  on  time,  I  believe." 

A  blast  from  the  locomotive  and  a  humming  of 
the  rails  woke  the  station  to  life.  Archie  grabbed 
the  larger  of  Congdon's  bags  and  led  the  way  toward 
a  voice  bawling  "Chicago  sleeper."  Congdon 
showed  his  ticket  for  lower  three  and  climbed  in; 
Archie  remaining  behind  to  negotiate  for  space. 

"Nothing  left  but  uppers;  you  can  take  upper 
three." 


242      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

He  found  Congdon  in  the  aisle  disposing  of  his 
effects. 

"I've  got  the  upper  half  of  the  section,"  said 
Archie,  "but  I  promise  not  to  be  a  nuisance  to  you." 

"That  will  be  all  right.  I  asked  for  a  stateroom 
but  you  can  never  get  what  you  want  at  these  way 
stations.  I'm  going  to  smoke  for  a  while." 

Archie  threw  his  suit-case  into  the  upper  berth 
and  clung  to  the  curtains  as  the  train  started  with 
a  jerk.  Here  was  a  situation  so  utterly  confound 
ing  that  his  spirit  sank  under  the  weight  of  it.  He 
was  not  only  traveling  with  a  man  he  had  shot ;  he 
was  obliged  to  sleep  over  him.  The  propinquity 
made  it  possible  to  finish  the  business  begun  at 
Bailey  Harbor  and  be  done  with  him.  He  felt  the 
perspiration  trickling  down  his  cheeks.  The  possi 
bilities  of  the  next  few  hours  were  hideous;  what 
if  he  were  unable  to  resist  an  impulse  to  give  Putney 
Congdon  his  quietus;  what  if  — 

He  staggered  toward  the  smoking  compartment 
and  found  it  unoccupied  save  for  Congdon,  who 
had  planted  himself  in  a  chair  and  was  trying  to 
light  a  cigarette.  Archie  sank  upon  the  leather  divan 
and  struck  and  held  a  match  for  him. 

Congdon  thanked  him  with  a  nod  and  remarked 
that  the  weather  was  favoring  the  farmers. 

Archie,  satisfied  that  the  rather  melancholy  blue 
eyes  had  found  in  him  nothing  familiar  or  sugges 
tive  of  their  earlier  and  tragic  meeting,  heartily 
commended  the  weather  as  excellent  for  the  crops. 
Congdon  gave  a  hitch  to  his  shoulder  occasionally 
and  flinched  when  a  sudden  jerk  of  the  car  threw 
him  against  the  window  frame.  The  glint  of 
pain  in  his  eyes  sent  a  wave  of  remorse  through 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      243 

Archie's  soul.  Congdon  bore  his  affliction  man 
fully.  There  was  about  him  nothing  even  remotely 
suggestive  of  Eliphalet  Congdon's  grotesque  figure 
or  excited,  choppy  speech.  He  had  suffered  and 
perhaps  his  wound  was  not  alone  responsible  for 
his  pallor  or  the  hurt  look  in  his  eyes.  As  Congdon 
played  nervously  with  his  watch  chain,  he  inspected 
Archie  with  quick  furtive  glances. 

"I'm  all  banged  up  —  nerves  shot  to  pieces,"  he 
said  abruptly,  turning  his  gaze  intently  upon  Archie. 

"That's  rough.  Used  to  be  troubled  a  good  deal 
myself." 

The  sound  of  his  own  voice  and  the  conscious 
ness  that  the  victim  of  his  bullet  was  reaching  out 
to  him  for  sympathy  brought  back  his  courage. 
He  would  be  very  kind  to  Putney  Congdon.  Even 
apart  from  the  disabled  shoulder  there  was  a  pathos 
in  the  man.  Archie  felt  that  in  happier  moments 
he  could  become  very  fond  of  Putney  Congdon. 
He  looked  like  a  chap  it  would  be  pleasant  to  sit 
with  at  a  table  for  two  in  a  quiet  club  corner. 

"Chicago  ?"  Congdon  asked.  It  seemed  to  Archie 
that  he  threw  into  the  question  a  hope  that  they 
were  to  be  fellow  travelers  to  the  end  of  the  journey. 
Here  was  something,  a  turn  of  the  screw,  that  even 
the  Governor  could  not  have  foreseen. 

The  conductor  came  for  their  tickets  and  Archie 
took  advantage  of  the  interruption  to  ponder  the 
ethics  and  the  etiquette  of  his  predicament;  but 
there  was  no  precedent  in  all  history  for  such  a 
synchronization  of  two  gentlemen  who  had  recently 
engaged  in  a  midnight  duel.  Archie  was  appalled 
by  the  consciousness  that  he  and  Congdon  were 
really  hitting  it  off. 


244      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

The  tickets  surrendered,  Congdon  drew  out  his 
watch,  said  that  he  had  been  sleeping  badly  and 
hated  to  go  to  bed.  He  sat  erect  and  tried  to  reach 
his  coat  pocket.  His  face  twitched  with  the  pain 
of  the  effort. 

"I  had  a  bottle  of  dope  I'm  supposed  to  take  to 
help  me  sleep;  must  have  left  it  in  my  bag.  Will 
you  poke  the  button,  please  ?" 

"Can't  I  get  it  for  you  ?"  asked  Archie. 

"You  are  very  kind.  It's  the  small  satchel  —  a 
lot  of  stuff  in  it  all  mixed  up.  A  bottle  about  as 
long  as  your  hand." 

Opening  the  bag  in  Congdon's  berth  Archie's 
hand  fell  upon  a  photograph  that  lay  on  top.  The 
face  swam  before  his  eyes  and  he  pitched  forward 
in  his  agitation,  bumping  his  head  viciously  against 
the  window.  It  was  a  photograph  of  Isabel  Perry, 
an  Isabel  somewhat  younger  than  the  girl  he  knew, 
but  Isabel  —  indubitably  Isabel !  Another  dive  into 
the  bag's  recesses  brought  up  the  photograph  of  Edith 
Congdon  that  had  been  snatched  from  the  frame  in 
the  Bailey  Harbor  cottage.  This  was  explicable 
enough,  but  the  likeness  of  Isabel  in  Congdon's 
satchel  was  utterly  inexplicable  and  astounding. 
He  groped  for  the  bottle  and  crept  back  to  the 
smoking  compartment. 

"That's  right;  thanks.  One  teaspoonful  in  water 
if  you  don't  mind.  This  is  really  quite  unpardon 
able.  You  are  very  good  to  bother  with  me ;  I'd 
counted  on  the  porter's  help.  Had  a  trained  nurse 
for  a  while  but  you  can't  go  traveling  over  the  country 
with  a  nurse,  and  the  woman  had  begun  to  bore  me 
to  death.  I'd  rather  die  than  have  doctors  and 
nurses  trailing  me  about." 


BLACKSHEEP !  BLACKSHEEP !      245 

"They're  odious,"  Archie  assented.  "There! 
Now  have  a  cigarette  to  kill  the  taste." 

"Good  idea !    One  more  and  I'll  turn  in." 

A  cigarette  is  the  most  insignificant  of  peace 
offerings,  and  yet  Archie  experienced  a  pleasur 
able  thrill  as  Putney  Congdon  accepted  one  from 
his  case.  They  were  very  good  cigarettes,  of  a 
brand  with  which  Archie  had  supplied  himself  gen 
erously  at  Tiffin  and  Congdon  expressed  his  ap 
proval  of  them. 

Congdon,  the  custodian  of  a  photograph  of 
Isabel  Perry,  demanded  a  more  careful  inspection, 
and  Archie  studied  him  with  renewed  interest.  -Isabel 
had  in  no  way  indicated  that  she  knew  Congdon ;  it 
was  Mrs.  Congdon  that  she  was  trying  to  serve,  and 
Isabel  was  hardly  a  girl  to  bestow  her  photograph 
upon  a  married  man.  Congdon  had  no  business 
with  the  photograph  and  Archie  bitterly  resented  its 
presence  in  the  man's  luggage. 

He  jumped  when  Congdon  announced  that  he 
was  ready  to  turn  in,  followed  him  to  the  berth,  and 
helped  him  to  undress,  even  touching  the  wounded 
shoulder. 

"That  little  scratch  there's  coming  along  all 
right  now,  but  the  bone's  sore;  suppose  I'll  feel 
weather  changes  as  old  chaps  do  who  have  rheu- 


matsm." 


"Whistle  if  you  need  anything  in  the  night," 
said  Archie,  and  allowed  the  porter  to  push  him 
into  the  upper  berth,  the  first  he  had  ever  occupied. 
Wakened  now  and  then  by  unusual  jars,  he  heard 
nothing  of  Congdon.  He  stifled  a  desire  to  steal 
Isabel's  photograph  and  in  time  slept  the  sleep  of 
exhaustion. 


246  BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP ! 

When  they  were  roused  by  the  porter  he  helped 
Congdon  into  his  clothes,  chose  a  clean  shirt  for  him 
and  laughingly  offered  to  shave  him. 

Congdon  regarded  him  quizzically. 

"You're  a  mighty  good  fellow!  It's  about  time 
I  was  introducing  myself.  My  name  is  Congdon. 
I  live  in  New  York ;  just  taking  a  little  trip  for  my 
health ;  going  up  into  the  lakes." 

"Comly's  my  name.  No  particular  plans  myself. 
Just  knocking  about  a  bit." 

By  the  time  Archie  had  made  his  toilet  they  were 
running  into  the  Chicago  station. 

"Suppose  we  have  breakfast  in  the  station  restau 
rant?"  Congdon  suggested.  "If  I  go  up  to  the 
University  Club  I'm  likely  to  run  into  somebody 
who'll  want  me  to  do  things.  And  I'm  not  up  to 
it;  really  I'm  not." 

"I  understand  perfectly,"  said  Archie. 

"And  see  here,  old  man;  I  don't  want  to  force 
myself  on  you,  but  you've  been  awfully  decent  to 
me.  Don't  be  alarmed,  but  to  tell  you  the  honest 
truth  my  nerves  are  in  such  a  state  that  I'm  afraid 
to  be  alone.  If  a  poor  neurasthenic  won't  bore  you 
too  much  I  wish  you'd  let  me  tag  you  till  my  train 
leaves  tonight.  I  promise  not  to  be  a  nuisance  and 
if  it  becomes  unbearable,  just  chuck  me  !" 

They  not  only  breakfasted  together,  but  after 
motoring  through  the  parks  they  spent  an  hour  at 
the  art  institute  and  then  Archie  acted  as  host  at 
luncheon.  The  fear  of  being  accosted  by  an  acquaint 
ance  made  him  nervous,  and  his  anxiety  seemed 
to  be  shared  by  Congdon,  who  chose  an  eating 
place  unfrequented  by  travelers.  By  this  time 
Archie  was  fully  committed  to  the  further  journey 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      247 

into  Michigan  and  contributed  his  half  to  the  pur 
chase  of  a  stateroom  for  the  trip. 

"I'm  using  you;  you  can  see  that  I'm  using  you, 
making  a  valet  of  you,  dragging  you  into  the  wilder 
ness!"  exclaimed  Congdon.  "But  I  always  was  a 
selfish  whelp." 

He  made  the  confession  with  a  grim  smile,  and  an 
impatient  sweep  of  his  free  arm  as  though  brushing 
himself  out  of  existence. 

Archie's  intimate  friends  were  few;  men  thought 
him  difficult,  or  looked  upon  him  as  an  invalid  to  be 
left  to  his  own  devices;  and  yet  he  felt  that  he 
had  known  Putney  Congdon  for  years. 

On  a  bench  in  Grant  Park  Congdon  swung  himself 
into  a  confidential  attitude. 

"Life's  the  devil's  own  business,"  he  said  with  a 
deep  sigh.  "I've  got  to  a  place  where  I  don't 
care  what  happens  —  everything  black  anywhere  I 
look.  I've  been  trying  for  the  past  four  or  five 
years  to  do  things  God  Almighty  never  intended 
me  to  do.  I  was  happily  married ;  two  beautiful 
children ;  none  finer,  —  but  I'll  shorten  up  the 
story  so  you  can  see  what  a  monkey  fate  has  made 
of  me.  My  father's  a  crank,  a  genius  in  his  way, 
but  decidedly  eccentric.  My  mother  died  when 
I  was  a  youngster  and  as  I  was  an  only  child  father 
tried  all  sorts  of  schemes  of  educating  me,  whimsical 
notions,  one  after  another.  The  result  was  I've 
never  got  a  look  in  anywhere ;  unfitted  for  everything. 
After  I  married  he  still  tried  to  hold  the  rein  on  me, 
wanted  to  put  me  into  businesses  I  hated  and  kept 
meddling  with  my  domestic  affairs.  All  this  made 
me  weak  and  irresolute.  I  have  a  mechanical  turn 
—  not  a  strong  bent  but  the  only  thing  that  ever 


248      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

tugged  at  me  very  hard.  Almost  made  some  impor 
tant  inventions,  but  only  almost.  About  the  time 
Fd  get  a  good  start  father  would  shoot  me  off  into 
something  else,  and  if  I  refused  he'd  cut  off  my 
allowance.  Never  set  me  up  for  myself;  keeps  me 
dependent  on  his  bounty.  Humiliating;  positively 
humiliating!" 

"I  can  imagine  so,"  Archie  agreed.  He  had  now 
got  the  explanation  of  the  blue  prints  in  the  Bailey 
Harbor  house  and  found  himself  deeply  interested 
in  Congdon's  recital. 

"Well,  sir,  I  was  about  to  offer  myself  as  exhibit 
A  on  a  slab  in  the  nearest  morgue,"  Congdon  con 
tinued,  "when  I  met  a  young  woman  who  seemed 
to  understand  me,  and  right  there's  where  I  made  the 
greatest  mistake  of  my  life.  It  was  last  spring 
when  that  happened.  Talk  about  plausibility, 
Comly !  The  word  never  had  any  meaning  until 
that  girl  came  along.  She  made  a  fool  of  me ;  that's 
the  short  of  it.  I  took  her  into  dinner  at  the  house 
of  some  friends  right  here  in  Chicago  —  I  lived  here 
about  a  month  trying  to  learn  a  patent  medicine 
business  father  had  gone  into.  The  thing  was  a  fake ; 
a  ghastly  imposition  on  the  public.  Such  things 
have  a  weird  fascination  for  father;  it's  simply  an 
obsession,  for  he  doesn't  need  the  money." 

He  was  wandering  into  a  description  of  various 
other  dubious  businesses  that  had  attracted  Eliphalet 
Congdon  when  Archie,  nervously  twisting  a  folded 
newspaper,  brought  him  back  to  the  girl  who  had 
played  so  mischievous  a  part  in  his  life. 

"Oh  yes  !  Well,  I  was  ready  to  jump  at  anything 
and  she  diagnosed  my  case  with  marvelous  pen 
etration.  Really,  Comly,  it  was  staggering  !  She 


BLACKSHEEP !  BLACKSHEEP !      249 

said  I  faced  life  with  the  soul  of  a  coward ;  she'd  got 
an  inkling,  I  suppose,  of  my  father's  freakishness 
and  injustice;  and  she  told  me  I  lacked  assurance 
and  initiative.  Suggested  that  I  go  armed  and  shoot 
any  one  who  stepped  on  my  toes.  All  this  with  a 
laugh,  of  course;  but  nevertheless  I  felt  that  she 
really  meant  it.  She  said  a  man  can  do  anything 
he  really  determines  to  do ;  it's  up  to  him.  She  re 
cited  a  piece  of  verse  to  the  effect  that  a  man  fears 
his  fate  too  much  if  he  won't  put  his  life  to  the  test. 
I  was  fool  enough  to  believe  it.  I  tried  to  follow 
her  advice.  It  ended  in  my  having  a  row  with 
my  father  that  beat  all  the  other  rows  I  ever 
had  with  him  and  he  turned  against  my  wife  —  said 
she  was  trying  to  estrange  us.  And  when  I  ran  away 
to  escape  from  the  nasty  mess  he  sent  her  telegrams 
in  my  name  threatening  to  kidnap  the  children  and 
he  did  in  fact  kidnap  my  little  daughter.  Snatched 
her  away  from  her  mother  and  carried  her  out  to 
one  of  his  farms  in  Ohio.  But  my  wife's  a  great 
woman,  Comly ;  one  of  the  dearest,  bravest  women 
in  the  world.  She's  played  a  clever  trick  on  the  old 
gentleman  and  got  the  child  back  again  and  I'm 
damned  glad  of  it.  I  got  a  message  that  the  little 
girl's  up  in  Michigan,  so  that's  really  where  I'm 
headed  for.  I  don't  dare  believe  that  she  sent  me 
the  message,  but  I  hope  to  God  she  did.  That's  the 
way  things  have  gone  with  me  ever  since  I  listened 
to  that  girl.  Everything  all  upside  down.  She's  a 
siren ;  a  dangerous  character ;  I  ought  to  have  known 
better!" 

"She's  beautiful,  I  suppose,"  Archie  ventured, 
fanning  himself  with  his  hat. 

"Devilishly   handsome!"   Congdon   exclaimed. 


250  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

Archie  had  suffered  a  blow  but  he  was  meeting  it 
bravely.  Having  believed  that  Isabel  had  given  him 
this  same  advice  quite  spontaneously,  it  was  with 
a  shock  that  he  realized  that  she  had  offered  it  in 
similar  terms  to  Congdon.  There  was  no  question  as 
to  the  identity  of  the  girl  who  had  bidden  Congdon 
plant  his  back  to  the  wall  and  defy  the  world ;  no 
one  but  Isabel  would  ever  have  done  that. 

"And  this  young  woman,"  Archie  asked  after  a 
long  glance  at  the  lake,  "pardon  me  if  I  ask  whether 
she  affected  you  in  a  sentimental  way  ?  Did  you 
well,  er— " 

"If  you  mean  am  I  in  love  with  her,"  began  Cong 
don,  "I  believe  I  can  say  honestly  that  it  hardly 
amounts  to  that.  And  yet  she  made  a  curious  im 
pression  on  me.  You  know  how  it  is,  Comly !  A 
man  may  love  his  wife  with  all  his  heart  and  soul 
and  he  may  mean  to  be  awfully  square  with  her ;  and 
yet  there  may  be  a  face  or  a  voice  now  and  then  that 
will,  well,  you  know,  make  him  wobble  a  little.  I 
did  think  about  that  girl  a  lot ;  it  was  damned  funny 
how  I  thought  of  her.  She'd  pop  up  in  my  mind 
when  I  had  absolutely  willed  that  I  would  never 
think  of  her  again.  And  yet  the  more  I  resolved  to 
get  her  out  of  my  mind  the  more  stubbornly  she'd 
keep  coming  into  my  thoughts. 

"I  suppose  in  a  way  it  was  my  pride;  I  hated  to 
think  that  a  girl  as  pretty  and  clever  and  attractive 
as  she  is  thought  me  a  contemptible,  slinking  coward. 
We  all  want  to  be  heroes  to  women ;  it's  one  of  the 
damned  weaknesses  of  our  sex,  Comly.  I'd  ceased  to 
be  a  hero  to  my  wife,  who's  the  gentlest  and  most 
long  suffering  woman  alive,  but  this  other  woman 
rather  gave  me  hope  that  I  might  qualify  for  the 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      251 

finals  in  her  eyes.  Now,  Comly,  I  see  that  you're  a 
steady-going  fellow;  never  thrown  off  your  balance; 
not  a  chap  to  be  made  a  fool  of  by  a  girl  who  amuses 
herself  at  your  expense  at  a  dinner  party.  I  wish 
you'd  tell  me  frankly  just  what  you  think  of  this  ?" 

"I'd  say,"  replied  Archie,  attempting  to  meet  this 
demand  with  a  philosophic  air,  "I'd  say  that  the  girl 
probably  played  the  game  on  every  man  she  thought 
she  could  impose  on.  Merely  a  part  of  her  social 
technique ;  a  stunt,  so  to  speak,  which  she'd  found 
would  make  us  weak  males  sit  up  and  take  notice. 
If  I  were  you  I'd  clean  forget  the  whole  business ; 
on  the  other  hand  there's  the  suspicion  that 
you  appealed  to  her  strongly,  a  girlish  fancy, 
perhaps,  and  she  thought  you  were  the  sort  of  fellow 
that  would  be  hit  harder  if  she  roused  you  to  action. 
I  tell  you,  Congdon,  women  are  curious  creatures. 
Just  when  you  think  you've  got  your  hand  on  a 
pretty  bird  she  flutters  away  and  sings  merrily  in 
another  part  of  the  wood." 

"  Right ! "  ejaculated  Congdon.  "  By  George,  that 
expresses  it  exactly!" 

"About  your  child,  up  there  in  Michigan,"  said 
Archie,  pleased  that  he  was  scoring  as  a  man  of  wis 
dom,  "it's  wholly  possible  that  your  wife  sent  you 
the  wire  as  an  approach  to  a  reconciliation." 

"Oh,  Lord,  no  !  You  don't  know  my  wife,  Comly. 
You  see  I  got  answers  to  the  telegrams  father 
sent  her  in  my  name  and  she  hit  right  back  at  me ! 
Don't  you  believe  that  she's  coaxing  me  to  come 
back  to  her.  And  here's  the  message  I  got  out  there 
in  Ohio  that  caused  me  to  jump  for  the  train." 

He  produced  from  his  pocket  a  crumpled  telegram 
which  read  : 


252      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

Your  daughter  is  in  safe  hands  at  Huddleston,  Michi 
gan.  Proceed  to  that  point  with  serenity  and  contem 
plate  the  stars  with  a  tranquil  spirit. 

This  was  so  clearly  the  Governor's  work  that 
Archie  found  it  difficult  to  refrain  from  laughing. 

"My  wife,"  Congdon  continued,  "would  never 
send  a  message  like  that ;  you  may  be  sure  of  it. 
You  may  think  it  queer  that  I  set  off,  when  I  was 
ill  and  not  feeling  up  to  the  trip,  on  the  strength  of 
a  message  like  that.  But  ever  since  that  girl  told 
me  I  oughtn't  to  hesitate  when  I  heard  the  bugle  I 
can't  resist  the  temptation  to  act  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment.  I'm  a  fool,  I  suppose.  Tell  me  I'm  a  fool, 
Comly." 

"I  shall  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  There's  always 
the  chance  that  the  girl  had  sized  you  up  right  and 
gave  you  sound  advice.  Don't  answer  if  you  don't 
want  to,  but  have  you  really  done  anything,  anything 
you  wouldn't  have  done  if  that  girl  hadn't  told  you 
to  step  on  the  world  a  little  harder?" 

Congdon's  free  hand  worked  convulsively;  he 
bent  closer  to  Archie  and  whispered : 

"I've  killed  a  man!" 

"You  murdered  a  man!"  Archie  gasped. 

"Not  a  question  about  it,  my  dear  fellow !  It  was 
up  at  my  house  on  the  Maine  shore.  After  father 
had  driven  my  wife  away  I  went  there  to  look  at 
the  ruins  of  my  home.  A  sentimental  pilgrimage, 
feeling  that  I'd  made  a  mess  of  everything  and  mighty 
blue.  I  was  mooning  through  the  house  when  I  ran 
into  a  burglar.  The  scoundrel  had  gone  to  bed  in 
the  guest  room.  I  was  scared  to  death  when  I  opened 
the  door  and  spotted  him  but  I  thought  of  that  girl's 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  253 

advice  and  pulled  my  gun  and  shot  him.  Couldn't 
have  missed  the  fellow  across  a  bedroom.  As  I  ran 
down  the  stairway  he  took  a  shot  at  me;  that's 
what's  the  matter  with  my  shoulder.  I  got  up  to 
Portland  and  a  doctor  I  know  there  fixed  me  up  and 
kept  the  thing  dark.  I  passed  at  the  hospital  as 
the  victim  of  a  pistol  wound  accidentally  inflicted." 

"Well,  I'd  say  you're  out  of  it  easy.  Of  course 
you  didn't  kill  him  or  he  wouldn't  have  been  able 
to  wound  you.  I  congratulate  you  on  your  escape  !" 

"Thanks,  Comly ;  but  you  see  he  didn't  die  imme 
diately,  but  crawled  ofF  and  breathed  his  life  out  in 
some  lonely  place.  It's  horrible  !  Of  course  he  was 
a  thief  and  had  no  business  in  the  house ;  but  as  I  sit 
here  on  this  park  bench  Fm  a  murderer !  I  never 
got  beyond  the  headlines  in  the  Portland  papers; 
simply  couldn't  bear  it  and  haven't  dared  look 
at  a  newspaper  since.  I  shot  a  poor  devil  who  had 
quite  as  much  right  to  live  as  I  have.  The  thing 
will  hang  over  me  till  I  die !  I  don't  know  just  why 
I  am  confiding  in  you,  but  something  tells  me  that 
you  can  look  at  the  thing  straight.  If  you  say  I 
ought  to  go  to  Maine  and  surrender  myself  and  tell 
what  I  know  about  the  shooting  of  that  man  I'll 
do  it." 

"Most  certainly  not!"  cried  Archie  with  mourn 
ful  recollection  of  his  own  speculations  on  the  same 
point  in  the  hours  when  he  believed  that  he  himself 
was  responsible  for  Hoky's  death.  The  emotional 
strain  of  the  talk  was  telling  on  him.  He  had  never 
expected  to  hear  from  Congdon's  lips  the  story  of 
their  duel  at  Bailey  Harbor.  Congdon  had  no  idea 
that  he  had  fired  not  at  a  man  but  at  a  reflection 
in  a  mirror;  and  it  was  a  question  whether  common 


254  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

decency  didn't  demand  that  he  set  Congdon  straight. 
Congdon  in  all  likelihood  wouldn't  believe  him.  No 
body  would  believe  such  a  story !  And  certainly  if 
he  should  tell  all  he  knew  of  the  Congdons  and  Isabel, 
and  wind  up  by  acknowledging  that  it  was  he  who 
had  been  in  the  Bailey  Harbor  house  on  the  night 
of  the  shooting,  Congdon  would  probably  be  so 
frightened  that  ,he  would  run  away  in  terror  to  seek 
police  protection. 

Congdon,  unaware  of  his  companion's  perturba 
tion,  rose  and  suggested  a  walk  to  freshen  them  up 
before  train  time.  .» »  >  i  \  ^  <  > 

"I  thank  God  I  fell  in  with  you,"  he  said  with 
feeling.  "Just  talking  to  you  has  helped  me  a  whole 
lot!" 

Archie,  his  guilt  heavy  upon  him,  walked  up  Mich 
igan  Avenue  beside  the  man  he  had  shot. 


CHAPTER  SIX 
I 

THEY  breathed  deep  of  the  tonic  air  of  the  North 
as  they  left  the  sleeper.  Huddleston  was  a  forlorn 
village  with  one  street  that  displayed  a  single  line  of 
buildings  against  a  background  of  saw  mill  and 
sawdust.  An  unpainted  structure  bearing  the  in 
scription,  "Grand  Hotel;  Fishermen's  Resort"  pre 
sented  a  picture  of  complete  desolation  to  the 
travelers.  The  further  arm  of  the  bay  was  a  strip 
of  green  in  the  distance. 

A  fisherman  posed  in  monumental  majesty  on  a 
weather-beaten  pile  of  lumber  on  the  wharf  was  the 
only  human  being  in  sight  on  the  water  side  of  the 
town.  Just  as  the  train  pulled  out  he  jerked  up  his 
pole,  flinging  a  perch  high  in  air  and  catching  it  with 
a  yell  of  delight.  Archie  sighed  with  relief  as  the 
fisherman,  now  standing  erect  to  unhook  the  perch, 
turned  toward  them.  It  was  the  Governor,  rakishly 
trigged  out  in  knickerbockers,  with  a  cap  smartly 
tilted  over  one  ear  and  a  scarf  snapping  about  his 
face  in  the  lively  wind. 

"This  looks  like  the  end  of  the  world,"  Congdon 
remarked  dejectedly  as  they  walked  toward  the 
hotel.  "I  was  a  fool  to  come  here  and  drag  you 
along." 

"Don't  worry  about  me,"  said  Archie  cheerfully. 
"We'll  make  a  lark  of  it.  Your  daughter's  probably 

255 


256  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

around  here  somewhere.  We'll  lay  low  and  see 
what  turns  up." 

A  man  emerged  from  the  hotel  and  crossed  the 
street.  Archie  identified  him  at  once  as  Red  Leary, 
to  whom  the  Governor  had  delivered  the  stolen 
money  at  Walker's  farm.  Leary  made  no  sign  or 
ever  having  seen  Archie  before  but  picked  up  the 
luggage  and  led  the  way  to  the  hotel.  Archie's 
admiration  for  the  Governor  soared  to  new  heights 
at  this  manifestation  of  the  thoroughness  of  his 
preparations.  Something  had  been  said  at  Walker's 
about  Leary's  retirement  to  northern  Michigan,  but 
at  that  time  Huddleston  had  not,  he  was  sure,  figured 
in  the  Governor's  plans.  Leary  walked  round  the 
counter  and  turned  the  register  for  their  signatures. 

"We  jes'  opened  the  house  last  week;  she's  been 
shet  up  quite  a  spell  but  they're  goin'  t'  open  the 
mill  ag'in.  Jest  now  there  ain't  a  soul  in  town. 
Those  houses  and  the  store  are  boarded  up  tight. 
The  railroad  agent  stays  here  to  run  the  water  tank 
and  sleeps  in  the  station.  Yep ;  one  other  gent's 
registered."  He  placed  his  finger  on  "Reginald 
Heber  Saulsbury"  in  the  Governor's  flowing  auto 
graph.  "All  the  way  from  New  York.  I  guess 
you'll  find  him  all  right.  Blew  in  a  couple  of  days 
ago ;  says  he  come  out  here  seekin'  peace  for  his 
soul;  them's  his  very  words." 

"I  judge  there's  a  large  surplus  of  soul  stuff 
hereabouts,"  remarked  Congdon.  "By  the  way, 
you  haven't  seen  anything  of  a  little  girl  about  here, 
have  you  —  a  child  of  eleven  ?" 

"Not  one  of  'em  but  a  whole  passel,"  replied 
Leary  lifting  his  head  after  scrawling  the  numbers 
of  the  rooms  against  their  names.  "They's  a  camp 


BLACKSHEEP !  BLACKSHEEP !      257 

o'  city  girls  across  the  bay.  The  day  I  got  here  a 
whole  trainload  of  'em  was  hauled  up  from  Chicago. 
Y'  never  saw  such  a  lively  bunch.  And  yestiddy  I 
was  over  that  way  lookin'  up  fishin'  places  to 
recommend  to  our  guests  and  saw  the  whole  outfit 
swimmin'.  A  cute  lot  o'  youngsters.  Mos'  likely 
th'  camp'll  bring  considerable  business  to  the 
hotel ;  folks  comin'  up  to  visit  their  kids." 

"Well,  I  suppose  that's  the  trick,"  said  Congdon 
as  Leary  started  upstairs  with  their  bags.  "Edith 
has  been  put  in  a  camp;  her  mother's  work,  of 
course.  Not  a  bad  idea.  All  I  want  to  be  sure  of 
is  that  the  child's  in  good  hands.  This  is  a  beastly 
hole  but  I  guess  we  can  make  out  for  a  day  or  two 
and  I'll  see  if  I  can  get  a  glimpse  of  Edith." 

"Oh,  we'll  have  to  study  the  situation  a  little," 
Archie  answered.  "I  don't  question  your  daughter's 
all  right.  We  can  make  out  here  for  a  few  days 
anyhow." 

The  house  had  been  renovated  and  their  rooms 
were  better  than  the  grim  exterior  promised. 

"There'll  be  dinner  at  twelve,"  said  Leary;  "and 
if  you  want  to  try  your  hand  at  trollin'  for  pickerel 
I'll  fix  you  up  later  in  the  afternoon.  Mr.  Sauls- 
bury's  been  snatchin'  up  perch  all  mornin'.  I'm 
tired  out  jest  from  settin'  on  the  porch  and  watchin' 


'im." 


Mrs.  Leary,  in  spite  of  the  fact  disclosed  by  the 
Governor  at  Walker's,  that  she  had  conducted  a 
fence  in  Chicago  and  was  prone  to  view  precious 
stones  with  a  covetous  eye,  bore  all  the  marks  of 
respectability.  She  entered  the  dining-room  briskly, 
her  motherly  face  heated  from  the  range,  and 
placed  a  large  platter  of  fried  chicken  on  the  table. 


258      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

"Jes'  help  yerselves,  gents.  We've  hardly  got 
goin'  yet  but  I  got  a  waitress  on  the  way  from  Chicago 
and  she'll  spare  me  some  steps." 

"Ah  !"  ejaculated  the  Governor,  pausing  dramati 
cally  in  the  door  and  eyeing  the  newly  arrived  guests 
as  though  their  presence  filled  him  with  astonish 
ment.  He  bowed  to  them  and  remarked  upon  the 
fineness  of  the  day. 

"I  guess  you  folks'll  get  acquainted  without  bein' 
introduced,"  observed  Mrs.  Leary.  "It's  always 
nicer  in  a  summer  resort  when  folks  get  together 
sociable-like.  You  wanted  radishes,  Mr.  Saulsbur/y, 
and  you'll  notice  I  got  'em  fer  you." 

"Madam,"  said  the  Governor  in  his  most  elaborate 
manner,  "I  knew  you  at  once  for  a  woman  of  kind 
heart !  I  am  not  in  the  least  surprised  to  find  myself 
in  the  presence  of  the  noblest  radishes  I  have  ever 


seen." 


In  a  moment  more  he  had  introduced  himself  to 
Archie  and  Congdon.  He  had  spent  a  jolly  morn 
ing,  he  announced.  Not  in  years  had  he  enjoyed 
himself  so  hugely.  He  delivered  a  lecture  on  fish 
only  to  celebrate  in  sonorous  periods  the  humble 
perch,  scorned  by  epicures.  It  was  the  most  delect 
able  of  all  the  finny  genus,  superior  even  to  the 
pompano.  Congdon,  first  irritated  by  the  Govern 
or's  volubility,  was  soon  laughing  at  his  whimsical 
speeches  and  by  the  time  they  moved  to  the 
narrow  veranda  to  smoke  he  was  both  puzzled  and 
amused.  Archie  had  been  with  the  Governor  so 
constantly  and  was  so  familiar  with  his  tangential 
mental  processes  that  he  was  glad  of  an  opportunity 
to  watch  the  effect  of  his  patter  upon  a  man  of  his 
own  world.  It  was  clear  that  the  Governor  was  at 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  259 

pains  to  make  himself  agreeable  to  Congdon.  He 
touched  upon  public  affairs,  sensibly  and  con 
vincingly,  then  turned  handsprings  through  the 
arts  and  sciences. 

"  Rather  odd  my  being  here,"  he  rippled  on ;  "  and 
I  need  hardly  say  that  it's  a  pleasure  to  meet  on  this 
bleak  shore  two  gentlemen  of  your  caliber.  I  told 
a  friend  of  mine  in  Chicago  that  I  was  enormously 
fed  up  with  cities  and  the  general  human  pressure 
and  wanted  to  go  to  the  most  God-forsaken  spot 
in  America.  And  he  answered  without  a  moment's 
hesitation  that  Huddleston,  Michigan,  would  satisfy 
my  loftiest  ideal  of  godforsakenness.  He  had  been 
here  straightening  up  some  land  titles  and  camped 
out  for  a  week  with  a  surveyor  and  ate  out  of  a 
skillet.  He's  one  of  these  fussy  fellows  who  sends 
an  order  of  chops  back  to  a  club  kitchen  a  dozen 
times  before  he's  satisfied,  —  you  know  the  type. 
He's  probably  laughing  himself  to  death  right  now 
thinking  how  miserable  I  am.  But  I  refuse  to  be 
bored ;  never  in  my  life  have  I  been  bored  !  Even 
the  sawdust  pyramids  and  the  stumps  are  magnificent 
in  their  desolation.  I  feel  it  in  my  bones  that  some 
thing  extraordinary  is  going  to  happen.  Some 
thing's  got  to  happen  or  the  lake  will  rise  in  one  vast 
wave  and  destroy  Huddleston.  I  hope  you  gentle 
men  share  my  feeling  that  our  meeting  has  been 
ordered  by  the  gods  and  that  we  shall  stand  or  fall 
together." 

"If  we've  got  to  put  the  responsibility  some 
where  the  gods  may  have  it,"  laughed  Congdon. 
"I'm  a  cripple,  as  you  see,  but  as  Comly  and  I 
haven't  a  thing  to  do  we'll  give  you  a  day  or  two 
to'  kick  up  some  excitement.  It  may  entertain 


260  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

you  to  know  that  my  coming  here  was  due  to  an 
anonymous  telegram." 

"Excellent!  I'm  delighted  to  know  that  there's 
some  of  the  old  romantic  spirit  left  in  the  world  ! 
It  pleases  me  clear  through  to  meet  a  man  who  will 
act  on  an  anonymous  telegram  and  not  ring  up  the 
police  to  ask  their  stupid  advice." 

With  a  wave  of  the  hand  he  left  them,  declaring  it 
to  be  his  purpose  to  spend  the  afternoon  in  the  woods. 

"What  do  you  make  of  that  chap?"  Congdon 
asked  as  the  Governor  strolled  away,  swinging  a 
stick,  and  disappeared  at  the  end  of  the  street. 

"He  talks  like  a  nonsense  book,"  Archie  replied. 
"I  hope  he  won't  become  a  nuisance!" 

"A  cheerful  soul,  I  should  call  him.  He's  likely  to 
make  the  place  more  tolerable." 

When  Congdon  pleaded  weariness  Archie  put 
him  to  bed  and  then  sauntered  away,  following  a  dirt 
road  that  wound  through  the  timber.  In  a  little 
while  he  came  upon  the  Governor  lying  with  his 
back  against  a  tree,  reading  Horace. 

"You  arrive  most  opportunely!"  he  said,  without 
lifting  his  eyes  from  the  book.  "I  was  pining  for 
some  one  to  read  this  ode  to." 

He  not  only  read  the  ode  but  expounded  it,  dwell 
ing  upon  felicities  that  had  eluded  him  before. 
With  countless  questions  crying  for  answer  Archie 
was  obliged  to  feign  interest  in  the  poem  until  the 
Governor  thrust  the  book  into  his  pocket  with  a  sigh 
and  led  the  way  to  the  beach. 

"Well,  you  landed  him  here  !"  he  remarked,  seating 
himself  on  a  log  and  producing  his  pipe.  "Or  did  he 
bring  you  ?  One  would  think  you  were  old  chums  to 
see  you  together.  Not  a  bad  fellow,  I  should  say." 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      261 

"He's  really  a  good  sort,"  said  Archie;  "but  I'll 
tell  you  the  whole  story." 

The  Governor  listened  placidly,  interrupting  only 
when  Archie  repeated  what  Congdon  had  said  of 
Isabel. 

"A  wonderful  girl!"  he  ejaculated.  "Makes  it 
her  business  to  tease  the  world  along.  Laughing 
in  her  sleeve  all  the  time.  I  must  say  it's  odd  that 
both  you  and  Congdon  should  be  the  victims  of 
her  wiles.  My  burdens  are  heavier  than  I  knew, 
for  Fve  got  to  get  you  both  out  of  your  scrapes." 

"You  don't  seem  to  appreciate  how  horrible  I 
felt  when  I  found  myself  liking  that  fellow.  To  say 
I  was  embarrassed  doesn't  express  it !  And  I 
nearly  gave  myself  away  when  he  told  me  he'd 
killed  a  man,  your  friend  Hoky,  you  know.  I  nearly 
confessed  all  I  knew  of  that  business  just  to  ease  the 
poor  chap's  mind." 

"  But  you  didn't,  Archie  !  You  couldn't  have  done 
anything  so  foolish.  My  tutoring  hasn't  been  wholly 
wasted  on  you,  after  all.  You  managed  the  trip 
admirably ;  I  haven't  a  point  to  criticize ;  but  now 
to  get  down  to  brass  tacks.  What  you  learned  of 
old  Eliphalet  Congdon's  meddlesomeness  jibes  ex 
actly  with  what  I  know  of  his  character.  Let  me 
show  you  something,  Archie." 

He  walked  out  upon  the  gravelly  shore  and  pointed 
through  the  wide-flung  arms  of  the  bay. 

"Do  you  see  a  little  blur  of  smoke  out  yonder  in 
the  open  lake  ?  That's  the  Arthur  B.  Grover  pro 
ceeding  under  her  own  steam,  with  all  the  dignity 
of  a  transatlantic  liner.  I  took  up  my  option  and 
the  bloomin'  thing  is  mine.  It's  got  a  crew 
of  the  smartest  crooks  in  all  America.  Men  of 


262  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

genius  in  the  field  of  felony,  and  a  few  of  them 
talented  in  other  lines.  One  chap  a  navigator,  able 
to  sail  a  ship  round  the  Horn,  and  yet  he  prefers 
to  play  the  shell  game  at  rural  fairs.  And  Perky's 
on  board  with  old  Eliphalet  Congdon !  Yes,  sir ; 
the  old  boy  is  right  there  as  safe  as  King  Arthur 
when  the  dark  barge  bore  him  away  to  the  sound  of 
wailing.  Perky  sent  me  a  wire  from  Mackinac 
this  morning  saying  that  all  is  well  on  our  frigate. 
They  have  orders  to  hang  around  out  there  till  I 
signal  them  to  come  in.  But,  my  dear  Archie  — " 

He  refilled  his  pipe  and  when  he  had  it  going  to  his 
satisfaction  waved  his  arm  toward  the  camp. 

"  There's  a  queer  business  going  on  over  there. 
Ruth  told  me  at  Rochester  that  when  I  brought  Edith 
up  here  I'd  better  leave  the  train  at  Calderville, 
the  first  station  south  of  Huddleston,  and  drive  to 
Heart  o'  Dreams  Camp  through  the  woods.  Well, 
the  road  over  there  was  only  a  trail  and  I  had  a 
hard  job  getting  through,  but  made  it  all  right. 
Ruth  and  Isabel  were  delighted  with  our  success. 
That's  all  easy.  But  those  girls  are  in  trouble." 

"Well,  hurry  on  !"  said  Archie,  sitting  up  straight. 

"Oh,  that  cousin  of  Isabel's  is  not  a  myth  at  all 
as  I  rather  thought  he  might  be ;  and  that  money 
may  be  buried  over  there  somewhere,  you  know. 
And  the  cousin's  laying  himself  out  to  annoy  the 
camp  in  every  way  possible,  even  going  the  length  of 
trying  to  starve  'em  out.  There's  a  stack  of  supplies 
at  the  Huddleston  station  that  they  can't  move." 

"You  forget,"  cried  Archie  excitedly,  "that  there 
are  laws  even  in  the  wilderness !  If  that  fellow's 
looking  for  trouble  all  we've  got  to  do  is  to  telephone 
for  the  sheriff  and  land  him  in  jail.  The  jails  up 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      263 

in  this  neck  of  woods  are  probably  highly  uncomfort 
able." 

"I  grant  all  that,"  said  the  Governor  sprawling  at 
ease.  "But  the  notoriety  of  the  thing  would  kill 
the  camp.  Once  it  got  into  the  newspapers  every 
father  and  mother  who  has  a  child  out  yonder  would 
go  right  up  in  the  air.  It  would  make  a  great  first 
page  story  —  buried  treasure  —  a  war  for  hidden 
gold  centered  about  a  girls'  camp.  That  whole 
yarn  about  the  haughty  southerner  planting  his 
money  in  safe  territory  till  he  saw  which  way  the 
cat  jumped  is  fruity  stuff  for  our  special  corre 
spondent  on  the  spot.  No,  Archie ;  ladies  of  quality 
like  our  Ruth  and  Isabel  must  be  protected  from 
vulgar  publicity,  and  we  don't  want  any  sheriffs 
or  newspaper  reporters  nosing  around.  It's  up  to 
you  and  me  to  smooth  out  their  troubles  without 
resorting  to  bothersome  legal  apparatus.  The  camp 
has  no  telephone ;  the  road  round  to  that  pen 
insula  is  all  but  inaccessible.  They  have  a  launch 
they're  in  the  habit  of  using  to  carry  stuff  across 
from  Huddleston,  but  Mr.  Richard  Carey  blocks 
the  way !  I  got  all  this  when  I  was  delivering 
Edith  over  there  at  the  back  door.  And  Carey  is 
camped  at  the  land  entrance,  with  an  army  of  lumber 
jacks  to  help  him  maintain  a  blockade.  On  my  way 
out  I  ran  the  gantlet,  and  if  you  think  Carey  is  only 
fooling  about  this  buried  treasure  business,  gaze 
on  this!" 

He  took  off  his  cap  and  pointed  to  a  hole  through 
the  baggy  top. 

"A  bullet,  Archie,  fired  from  ambush  with 
murderous  intent." 

"  But  she  said  her  cousin  was  in  love  with  her !     It 


264      BLACKSHEEP !  BLACKSHEEP ! 

can't  be  possible  that  he's  resorting  to  violence  to 
drive  her  off  land  that  belongs  to  her,  with  the  idea 
that  she'll  meet  him  at  the  altar  afterwards." 

" There's  no  loving  touch  in  that  bullet  hole ! 
Heart  o'  Dreams  Camp  is  in  danger  as  long  as 
that  lunatic  runs  loose.  They  can't  communicate 
with  Huddleston  or  Calderville  in  their  launch 
because  Carey  patrols  the  shore.  It's  a  siege,  Archie, 
and  they're  going  to  be  hard  put  for  provisions  in 
another  day  or  two." 

"Then  it's  our  duty  to  relieve  the  beleaguered 
garrison  ?" 

"Nothing  less  than  that !  When  I  took  Edith  over 
to  Heart  o'  Dreams,  Isabel  and  Ruth  wouldn't  let 
me  stay  long  enough  to  plan  anything.  They  were 
pretty  anxious,  of  course,  with  Carey  trying  to  smoke 
them  out ;  and  they  were  afraid  Putney  would  try  to 
take  Edith  away  from  them.  But  from  what  you  say 
it's  only  Eliphalet  who's  made  the  trouble  and  we 
don't  need  to  fear  anything  from  Putney.  If  it 
comes  to  a  showdown  I  rather  think  he'll  play  with 
us.  You're  sure  he  doesn't  suspect  that  Isabel's 
the  head  of  Heart  o'  Dreams  ?" 

"He  hasn't  the  ghost  of  an  idea  of  it.  I  tell  you 
his  spirit's  broken  anyhow.  With  Hoky's  murder 
on  his  mind  and  the  general  muddle  of  his  family 
affairs  he  doesn't  care  much  which  way  the  wind 
blows." 

"That  man  needs  occupation  and  we  may  find 
some  way  of  using  him.  He  looks  as  though  he  had 
red  blood  in  him;  a  fighter  if  he  was  thoroughly 
aroused.  If  he  knew  the  trick  I've  played  on  his 
father  I  guess  that  would  tickle  him  considerably. 
The  idea  of  old  Eliphalet  with  his  millions  cruising 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      265 

the  lakes  with  a  band  of  the  most  accomplished  out 
laws  in  America  is  funny,  Archie;  real  comedy  I 
should  call  it.  He's  a  prisoner  on  the  Arthur  B. 
Grover,  only  he  doesn't  know  it.  I  mobilized  that 
outfit  thinking  we  might  need  some  help  up  here 
and  incidentally  to  keep  Eliphalet  where  I  could  put 
my  hand  on  him ;  but  the  whole  thing's  complicated, 
Archie.  It's  far  more  of  a  mess  than  I  expected." 

He  found  a  smooth  patch  of  sand  and  with  a  stick 
drew  a  number  of  diagrams,  carefully  effacing  them 
after  they  had  served  his  purpose. 

"Humph!  This  is  no  time  for  weakening! 
Over  there,  Archie,"  -  he  pointed  toward  Heart 
o'  Dreams  —  "are  the  two  finest  women  in  the  world. 
We're  going  to  stand  by  them  no  matter  whose  head 
gets  cracked." 

He  spoke  lightly,  but  his  brow  clouded.  It  was 
evident  that  something  of  unhappy  augury  had  been 
revealed  in  his  last  appeal  to  the  heavens. 

"I  want  to  be  alone  for  a  while,"  he  said  brusquely, 
"I'll  turn  up  at  supper  time." 


II 

At  the  supper  table  a  new  direction  was  given  to 
Archie's  thoughts,  for  a  time  at  least.  Fortunately 
his  nerves  had  grown  accustomed  to  shocks  and  he 
was  only  dazed  now  by  the  intrusion  of  a  new  figure 
on  the  scene.  The  Governor  and  Congdon  were 
already  at  the  table  when  he  reached  the  dining- 
room.  Mrs.  Leary  had  referred  to  an  assistant  she 
was  expecting  on  the  afternoon  train,  and  as  Archie 
appeared  at  the  door  a  neatly  attired  waitress 
walked  sedately  before  him  to  his  place. 


266      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

Sally  Walker  had  faded  in  a  long  perspective  of 
crowding  memories.  He  never  expected  to  see  Sally 
again,  but  if  the  girl  who  stood  by  his  chair  was  not 
Sally  she  was  her  twin.  He  sank  into  his  seat, 
watching  her  out  of  the  corner  of  his  eye  as  she 
passed  through  the  swing  door  with  a  flutter  of 
her  snowy  apron.  He  replied  feebly  to  the  Gov 
ernor's  bantering  salutation  and  nervously  played 
with  his  fork.  The  Governor  was  soaring  and 
Archie's  bewilderment  was  evidently  affording  him 
secret  delight. 

Sally  was  not  merely  a  past  mistress  of  dis 
simulation  ;  she  was  the  undisputed  reigning  queen 
in  that  realm.  She  served  the  table  with  a 
strictly  professional  air,  in  no  way  betraying  the 
fact  that  two  of  the  guests  had  lately  enjoyed  the 
hospitality  of  her  father's  house  or  that  she  had 
beguiled  one  of  them  by  the  grossest  misrepresen 
tations  to  assist  her  to  elope. 

"There's  custard  and  apple,"  she  recited  finally, 
"or  you  may  have  wheat  cakes  with  syrup,"  and  as 
Archie  covertly  met  her  eyes  she  winked,  a  wink 
not  sly  or  vulgar  but  a  wink  expressive  of  mischief 
on  a  holiday  and  quite  content  with  itself. 

He  was  enormously  curious  to  know  how  she  had 
reached  Huddleston  and  what  her  adventures  had 
been  on  the  way  —  matters  as  to  which  the  suave 
Governor  was  no  doubt  fully  informed,  though  he 
showed  no  disposition  to  disclose  them. 

For  a  gentleman,  the  guest  of  an  inn,  to  lurk  round 
the  kitchen  door  waiting  for  a  chance  to  address  a 
waitress  is  wholly  undignified,  but  Archie  was  doing 
this  very  thing  the  moment  he  could  escape  from  the 
Governor  and  Congdon.  Mrs.  Leary  was  upstairs 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  267 

preparing  additional  rooms  against  the  chance  of 
further  arrivals  and  Sally  was  alone  in  the  kitchen. 

"Well,  I've  got  the  same  old  job/'  she  remarked 
carelessly,  as  Archie  paused  uncertainly  on  the 
threshold.  "  You're  a  pay  guest  here  and  I  can't 
let  you  swing  a  towel,  so  if  you  want  to  talk  take 
a  chair  on  the  side  lines." 

Sally  was  as  handsome  as  ever;  he  had  not  been 
mistaken  in  thinking  her  a  very  handsome  and 
attractive  girl  with  a  distinct  charm.  It  seemed 
aeons  ago  that  he  had  kissed  her;  in  fact  it  was 
almost  unbelievable  that  he  had  ever  kissed  so 
radiant  a  being.  She  received  him  as  an  old  friend, 
without  a  trace  of  embarrassment.  Her  ease  put 
him  at  serious  disadvantage.  He  was  at  a  loss  to 
know  how  to  impress  upon  her  the  heinousness  of  the 
deceit  she  had  practised  upon  him. 

"Sally,"  he  began  in  a  tone  that  he  meant  to  be 
sternly  paternal,  "I  hope  you  realize  that  you 
treated  me  very  shabbily  up  there  at  your  father's. 
You  not  only  behaved  disgracefully,  but  you  threw 
away  your  life,  and  the  bright  promise  of  your 
future.  I  was  very  stupid  to  fall  into  your  trap. 
If  things  go  wrong  with  you  I  shall  always  blame 
myself.  And  I  don't  see  any  chance  for  happiness 
for  you  unless  you  change  your  ways." 

She  deliberately  concluded  the  drying  of  a  plate, 
put  it  down,  and  threw  the  towel  aside. 

"Look  here,"  she  began,  folding  her  arms  and 
walking  slowly  toward  him;  "I'm  not  the  worst 
girl  in  the  world  and  I'm  far  from  being  the  best. 
I  lied  to  you  and  it  was  a  nasty  trick ;  but  I  had  to 
get  away  from  that  farm;  I  simply  couldn't  stand 
it  any  longer.  And  I'd  worried  a  lot  about  being 


268  BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP ! 

the  daughter  of  a  crook;  I  honestly  had.  I  always 
knew  it  would  come  out  in  me  some  way,  and  I 
thought  the  sooner  the  better.  I  just  had  to  do 
some  rotten  thing  to  satisfy  myself  as  to  how  it 
feels.  You  can  understand  that,  can't  you?" 

"I  think  I  can,  Sally,"  he  stammered.     "But  — " 

"There's  no  butting  about  it!  I  just  had  to  try 
it  once,  and  you  came  along  just  when  I  needed  you. 
Yes,  sir;  I  took  advantage  of  you  because  I  saw  you 
were  a  gentleman  and  sympathetic  and  full  of  that 
chivalry  stuff;  and  I  played  on  your  feelings  and 
made  you  the  little  goat.  It  wasn't  nice  of  me." 

"It  certainly  approached  the  unpardonable,  Sally. 
And  you  not  only  ruined  your  own  life  but  nearly 
caused  me  to  lose  my  best  friend.  I'm  still  pretty 
sore  about  that.  But  what  hurt  me  most  was  that 
you  sacrificed  your  opportunity  to  be  somebody  in 
the  world,  to  be  a  noble,  useful  woman.  You  linked 
yourself  for  life  to  a  slinking,  scoundrelly  thief!" 

Sally  laughed  mockingly.  Then,  her  hands  on 
her  hips,  she  regarded  him  pityingly. 

"You  poor  goose !  You  sure  didn't  get  my  num 
ber  right !  If  you  thought  I  was  going  to  be  tied  up 
for  the  rest  of  my  days  with  a  miserable  little  wretch 
like  Pete  Barney  you  certainly  had  me  wrong.  I 
just  had  to  turn  a  few  handsprings,  and  you  needn't 
tell  me  how  disgusted  you  are  when  I  say  that  all  I 
wanted  was  to  know  how  it  feels  to  lie  and  steal." 

"Yes;  you  stole  some  money  from  your  father; 
that  was  very  wrong,  Sally." 

"Say,  you  make  me  tired  !  What  I  borrowed  from 
pop  I'll  pay  back.  The  low-down  thing  I  did  was 
to  take  that  string  of  diamonds  away  from  Barney. 
He  slipped  'em  to  me  that  night  as  we  were  on  the 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  269 

way  to  the  preacher's  to  get  married.  Married  ! 
Do  you  think  I  really  wanted  to  marry  that  man ! 
Do  you  think  I  am  married  to  him  now  ?  Why,  I 
gave  him  the  slip  at  the  first  station  after  I  kissed 
you  good-by  and  I  haven't  seen  him  since.  And  I 
never  intend  to  see  him  again !  I  ducked  round  till 
I  got  to  a  place  on  the  underground  railroad  I  knew 
about  from  pop ;  and  they  took  good  care  of  me. 
Then  I  slid  to  Petoskey  where  the  Learys  were  start 
ing  up  their  refreshment  shop  and  was  just  learning 
how  to  make  soft  drinks  look  wicked  when  the  Gov 
ernor  jerked  a  wire  to  Red  and  that  grand  old  girl  his 
wife  to  come  here  and  open  up  this  moldy  old  joint. 
My  folks  know  where  I  am  now  and  as  soon  as  they 
coax  me  a  little  I'll  go  home  and  be  a  nice  little  girl 
for  the  rest  of  my  life." 

"But  the  diamonds  — 

"Don't  be  so  tragic  or  I'll  burst  out  crying!  I've 
got  the  sparklers  hidden  safe;  and  I'm  going  to  get 
the  Governor  to  help  make  a  deal  to  give  'em  back 
to  the  owner  if  he  won't  prosecute  Barney.  I 
wouldn't  want  that  man,  even  if  he's  only  my  hus 
band  on  paper,  to  go  over  the  road  on  my  account. 
I'm  satisfied  with  my  kick-up  and  you  needn't  be 
afraid  I'll  break  any  more  Commandments." 

"Where's  Barney  now?"  demanded  Archie  sus 
piciously. 

"In  jail  in  Buffalo,  if  you  must  know!  They 
pinched  him  on  an  old  case,  so  you  needn't  blame 
me.  I  tell  you  I'm  clear  done  with  him.  Love  that 
worm  !  He  just  gave  me  an  excuse  to  let  my  black- 
sheep  blood  ripple  a  little  and  it's  all  over  now.  And 
I'm  sorry  I  played  you  for  a  sucker ;  honest  I  am. 
You  gave  me  a  lot  of  money  for  a  wedding  present 


270  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

and  as  the  wedding  doesn't  count  I'm  going  to  give 
it  back.  You'll  find  it  tucked  away  in  your  collar- 
box  in  the  top  drawer  of  your  bureau.  I  guess 
that's  about  all,  so  you  can  trot  back  to  the  front 
of  the  house." 

With  a  finality  that  closed  discussion  she  fell  ener 
getically  upon  the  dishes,  and  he  left  her  to  join  the 
Governor  and  Congdon.  His  enlightenment  as  to 
the  complexity  of  human  nature  was  proceeding. 
Sally  was  wonderful,  astonishing,  baffling.  He  did 
not  question  that  this  time  she  had  told  him  the 
truth.  He  was  touched  by  her  confession  that  her 
escapade  was  merely  an  experiment  to  test  her  blood 
for  inherited  evil.  There  was  an  enormous  pathos 
in  this ;  Sally  needed  help  and  guidance.  He  would 
discuss  the  matter  with  the  Governor  the  moment 
they  had  disposed  of  their  more  urgent  affairs. 

Ill 

At  nine  when  Congdon  announced  his  intention 
of  going  to  bed  Archie  assisted  him  as  n.sual. 

"This  air's  setting  me  up,"  said  Putney,  as 
Archie  inspected  the  crippled  shoulder.  "The  doc 
tor  told  me  to  begin  exercising  that  arm  as  soon 
as  the  soreness  left  it.  How  does  the  wound 
look?" 

"Like  a  vaccination  mark  in  the  wrong  place; 
that's  all.  You  certainly  had  a  close  call,  old 
man.  Only  a  few  inches  lower  and  it  would  have 
pierced  your  heart." 

In  their  hours  together  Archie  had  never  been  able 
to  free  his  mind  of  the  disagreeable  fact  that  he  had 
so  nearly  killed  Congdon ;  and  he  was  beset  now  by 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  271 

the  thought  that  sooner  or  later  he  must  confess  his 
culpability  in  the  Bailey  Harbor  shooting.  Cong- 
don  was  accepting  him  at  face  value,  and  the  thing 
wasn't  square.  Every  time  he  touched  the  injured 
shoulder  his  conscience  pricked  him. 

"I've  got  to  tell  Congdon  I  shot  him  and  that  he 
was  in  no  way  responsible  for  Hoky's  death,"  he 
announced  determinedly  to  the  Governor,  whom 
he  found  pacing  the  street  in  front  of  the  hotel. 

"Of  course  you'll  tell  him,  but  not  yet.  I'm  mis 
taken  in  the  man  if  he  acts  ugly  about  it.  The 
proper  way  to  tell  a  man  you've  tried  to  kill  him  and 
that  he's  carrying  the  scar  of  your  bullet  is  to  mention 
it  incidentally,  when  you're  walking  home  from 
church  with  him,  or  allowing  him  to  sign  the  check 
for  your  lunch.  Seriously,  it  was  merely  a  de 
plorable  error  on  both  sides  and  I  believe  he'll  see  it 
that  way.  But  until  we  get  some  other  things  cleared 
up  we'll  let  him  think  he  killed  Hoky,  just  to  keep 
him  humble.  And  now  that  he's  off  the  invalid  list 
we'll  let  him  share  some  of  the  little  adventures  that 
lie  before  us.  Tonight  we've  got  a  matter  on  hand 
that's  better  done  by  ourselves.  If  you  think  he's 
safe  for  a  few  hours  we'll  go  ahead." 

He  stopped  on  the  way  to  the  wood-bordered  shore 
and  produced  from  a  fence  corner  an  electric  lamp 
and  two  revolvers. 

"Stick  one  of  these  in  your  pocket.  We're  not 
going  to  add  to  our  crimes  if  we  can  help  it,  but  I 
owe  somebody  a  shot  for  that  nip  in  my  cap." 

A  stiff  wind  from  the  open  lake  was  whipping 
up  battalions  of  whitecaps  that  danced  eerily  in 
the  starlight.  At  a  point  half  a  mile  from  the  vil 
lage  the  Governor  flashed  his  lamp  along  a  bank  that 


272  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

hung  over  the  beach  and  found  a  canoe  and  a  row 
boat  hidden  in  a  thicket. 

"We're  all  fixed.  Good  old  Leary  planted  these 
things  for  us  while  we  were  at  supper." 

He  gave  the  whistle  Archie  remembered  from  his 
first  encounter  with  the  Governor,  and  in  a  moment 
Leary  stood  beside  them. 

They  had  carried  the  boats  to  the  water's  edge 
when  the  Governor  suddenly  stood  erect.  The  mo 
notonous  turn  turn  of  a  gasoline  engine  was  borne  to 
them  out  of  the  darkness. 

"Carey  has  a  boat  of  some  power,"  the  Governor 
remarked,  "and  as  he  carries  no  lights  we've  got  to 
take  the  chance  of  sneaking  round  him  or  getting 
run  down.  We  must  impress  it  on  Ruth  and  Isabel 
that  they're  not  to  attempt  to  run  the  blockade. 
Then  we've  got  to  get  rid  of  Carey ;  put  him  clean 
out  of  business.  You  and  Red  take  the  row  boat 
and  trail  me;  I'll  scout  ahead  with  the  canoe.  If 
one  of  us  gets  smashed  the  other  will  pick  up  the 
casualties." 

The  canoe  shot  forward,  the  Governor  driving  the 
paddle  with  a  practised  hand.  The  row  boat  fol 
lowed,  Leary  at  the  oars  and  Archie  serving  him  as 
pilot.  As  they  moved  steadily  toward  the  middle 
of  the  bay  they  marked  more  and  more  clearly  the 
passage  of  the  launch  as  it  patrolled  the  farther  shore. 

Leary  pulled  a  strong  stroke  and  Archie  was  obliged 
to  check  him  from  time  to  time  to  avoid  collision 
with  the  Governor's  craft.  At  intervals  passing 
clouds  dimmed  the  star-glow  and  in  one  of  these 
periods  a  dull  bump  ahead  gave  Archie  a  fright. 

"Steady!  I'll  be  all  right  in  a  moment!"  the 
Governor  called  reassuringly. 


BLACKSHEEP !  BLACKSHEEP !      273 

He  had  run  into  a  log  that  lay  across  his  path  and 
the  canoe  had  attempted  to  jump  it.  When  he  re 
ported  himself  free  they  went  ahead  alert  for  further 
manifestations  from  the  launch,  which  for  some  time 
had  given  no  hint  of  its  position. 

They  were  two-thirds  of  the  way  across  the  bay 
when  the  Governor  gave  the  signal  to  stop  and  they 
drew  together  for  a  conference. 

"They  must  be  keeping  watch,"  said  Archie  call 
ing  attention  to  lights  on  the  shore.  "  If  we  could 
land  without  frightening  the  girls  to  death  — " 

The  Governor  whistled  through  his  teeth.  Some 
where  to  the  left  of  them  as  they  lay  fronting  the 
camp,  a  sharp  blow  was  struck  upon  metal.  It  was 
repeated  fitfully  for  several  minutes. 

"It's  Carey  tinkering  his  engine.  He's  been  play 
ing  possum  off  there." 

The  launch  was  so  near  that  they  heard  the  waves 
slapping  its  sides.  Archie  and  Leary  gripped  the 
canoe  tight  while  the  Governor  listened  for  any  indi 
cations  of  a  change  in  Carey's  position. 

Suddenly  Leary  sprang  up  in  the  tossing  boat. 

"Look  ahead!"  he  exclaimed,  leveling  his  arm  at 
a  shadow  that  darted  out  of  the  darkness  and  passed 
between  them  and  the  launch.  The  Governor  saw 
it  and  stifled  a  cry  of  dismay. 

;'Two  women  in  a  canoe!  They're  going  to  run 
for  it!" 

"They  are  fools!"  growled  Leary  settling  himself 
to  the  oars  and  swinging  the  boat  round. 

The  Governor  had  already  turned  the  canoe  and 
was  furiously  plying  his  paddle.  A  lantern  shot  its 
beams  from  the  phantom  craft,  but  the  light  vanished 
immediately. 


274  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"There  goes  his  engine,"  the  Governor  called  as  he 
took  the  lead.  "He  spotted  that  light  and  will  try 
to  run  them  down." 

Isabel  and  Ruth,  attempting  to  elude  Carey's 
blockade  and  seek  help  at  Huddleston,  were  forcing 
a  crisis  that  might  at  any  minute  result  in  disaster. 
It  was  close  upon  midnight,  and  there  was  no  help 
to  be  had  from  either  shore.  A  fierce  anger  surged 
through  Archie's  heart.  There  could  have  been  no 
safer  place  to  commit  murder  than  the  quiet  bay 
at  the  dead  of  night.  Ultimately  the  bodies  would 
be  washed  up;  there  would  be  the  usual  inquiries 
and  a  report  of  accidental  drowning. 

It  was  incredible  that  Carey  would  attempt  to  run 
down  two  women  on  the  dark  bay  and  it  was  appar 
ently  his  intention  to  circle  round  them  and  drive 
them  back  to  the  camp.  Neither  the  canoe  of  the 
adventurous  women  nor  the  launch  was  visible  from 
the  row  boat,  though  the  engine's  rapid  pulsations 
indicated  the  line  of  Carey's  pursuit.  To  shout  to 
the  daring  women  that  help  was  at  hand  would 
only  alarm  them,  and  Archie  crouched  in  the  bow, 
peering  ahead  for  the  silhouette  of  the  Governor  as 
his  canoe  rose  on  the  waves. 

The  launch  executed  a  wide  half-circle,  stopped 
and  retraced  its  course.  Leary,  refusing  to  relin 
quish  the  oars,  swore  between  strokes,  the  object  of 
his  maledictions  being  the  invisible  Carey,  whom  he 
consigned  to  the  bottom  of  the  lake  in  phrases  that 
struck  Archie  as  singularly  felicitous.  In  spite  of 
their  steady  advance  and  the  frequent  turns  and 
twists  of  the  launch,  the  canoe  and  row  boat  seemed 
to  approach  no  nearer  to  the  enemy.  There  was  no 
doubt  but  that  Carey  knew  a  craft  of  some  kind  had 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      275 

put  off  from  the  camp  and  he  was  determined  to  in 
tercept  it ;  but  he  was  still  unconscious  of  the  pres 
ence  in  the  bay  of  the  three  men  from  Huddleston. 

The  Governor  called  to  Archie  to  stop  following 
and  move  in  the  direction  of  the  town,  independently 
of  his  own  movements,  thus  broadening  the  surface 
they  were  covering  with  a  view  to  succoring  the  canoe. 
As  though  with  malevolent  delight  in  the  fear  he  was 
causing,  Carey  rapidly  changed  the  course  of  the 
launch,  urging  it  backward  and  forward  with  a  re 
sulting  wild  agitation  of  the  waters.  In  one  of  these 
evolutions  it  passed  within  oar's  length  of  the  row 
boat. 

"Keep  on  swearing!"  cried  Archie.  "He's  not 
a  man ;  he's  the  devil !" 

The  launch  passed  again,  like  a  dark  bird  skimming 
the  water,  and  he  took  off  his  shoes  and  threw  aside 
his  coat. 

"If  that  blackguard  keeps  this  up  we  may  have  to 
swim  for  it !  Give  me  the  oars ;  I  want  to  warm 
up!" 

They  were  changing  positions  when  the  launch, 
executing  another  of  its  erratic  evolutions,  again 
swept  by.  A  second  later  they  were  startled  by  a 
crash  followed  by  screams  and  cries  for  help.  Leary 
whistled  shrilly  to  attract  the  Governor's  attention 
and  bent  to  the  oars. 

Carey  shut  off  his  power  the  moment  he  struck  the 
canoe,  whether  in  sudden  alarm  at  the  success  of  his 
design  or  in  the  hope  of  picking  up  the  victims  of  his 
animosity  was  a  question  Archie  left  for  a  more  tran 
quil  hour's  speculation.  A  shout  from  the  Governor 
announced  that  he  was  hurrying  toward  the  scene 
of  the  collision. 


276  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!1 

The  launch,  running  full  speed,  had  struck  hard 
and  it  was  sheer  good  luck  that  the  camp  canoe  had 
not  been  cut  in  two  and  the  occupants  killed.  The 
drumming  of  the  engine  had  ceased  but  a  searchlight 
sweeping  the  water  indicated  the  launch's  position. 
The  beam  fell  for  a  moment  upon  the  Governor, 
paddling  madly ;  another  sweep  of  the  light  disclosed 
two  heads  bobbing  on  the  waves  some  distance  away 
from  him. 

"Bear  left!"  cried  Leary,  seizing  an  oar.  "Slow 
down!  Stop!" 

Archie  backed  water  and  the  bow  sprung  high  as 
Leary  plunged  into  the  bay. 

The  light  playing  upon  the  scene  from  the  launch 
fell  in  turn  upon  the  struggling  women,  the  Governor 
and  Leary  swimming  toward  them,  and  Archie  steady 
ing  the  row  boat  ready  to  aid  in  the  rescue.  The 
appearance  of  unknown  men  evidently  frightened 
Carey,  for  he  turned  off  his  light  and  retreated  toward 
the  inner  recesses  of  the  bay. 

The  rescuers  were  now  dependent  upon  sound  and 
the  starlight  in  the  urgent  business  of  marking  the 
position  of  the  young  women.  A  hand  grasped 
Archie's  trailing  oar  and  in  a  moment  with  Leary's 
assistance  he  had  gotten  one  of  the  women  into  the 
boat.  The  men  now  redoubled  their  efforts  to  find 
the  second  victim  of  the  catastrophe,  shouting  to 
keep  track  of  one  another  and  to  hearten  the  girl  who 
was  somewhere  battling  for  her  life. 

A  faint  cry,  hardly  distinguishable  above  the  com 
motion  of  the  waves,  caught  Archie's  ear  and  he 
jumped  into  the  water  and  swam  toward  it.  In 
making  a  stroke  his  arm  fell  upon  the  side  of  the  over 
turned  canoe.  A  pitiful  little  whimper  startled  him  ; 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  277 

he  touched  a  face  and  his  fingers  caught  in  a  woman's 
hair.  The  canoe  still  retained  enough  buoyancy  to 
support  him,  and  his  lusty  cries  brought  the  Governor 
to  his  side,  followed  an  instant  later  by  Leary, 
laboriously  pushing  the  boat  before  him. 

They  worked  in  silence  save  for  the  sharp  com 
mands  of  the  Governor.  The  boat  had  to  be  bal 
anced  against  the  lifting  of  the  second  figure  over 
the  side,  and  Leary  managed  this,  while  Archie  and 
the  Governor,  after  twice  failing,  with  a  supreme 
effort,  got  the  second  girl  aboard. 

Leary  was  running  the  ray  of  an  electric  lamp 
over  the  faces  of  the  two  young  women  when  one  of 
them  sat  up  and  muttered  in  a  choking,  frightened 
tone,  "Oh,  Isabel !"  Whereupon  she  began  to  laugh 
hysterically. 

"Thank  God  Ruth  is  safe!"  cried  the  Governor. 
"But  Isabel  —  ?" 

"They  were  both  taking  care  of  themselves  when 
we  picked  them  up,"  said  Archie,  holding  to  the  side 
of  the  boat.  "We  haven't  a  case  of  drowning  to  deal 
with." 

"We'll  make  for  the  camp  as  fast  as  possible.  I'll 
take  the  oars,"  said  the  Governor.  "You  and  Leary 
follow  in  my  canoe." 

The  Governor  sent  the  boat  swiftly  toward  the 
camp  with  Archie  and  Leary  close  behind.  Ruth, 
protesting  that  she  was  only  chilled  by  her  ducking, 
vigorously  manipulated  the  arms  of  her  prostrate 
companion.  When  she  hailed  the  shore  a  lantern 
flashed  in  answer  and  the  camp  doctor  and  Isabel's 
mother  met  them  at  the  landing.  They  had  heard 
the  crash  of  the  collision  and  the  reassuring  cries  that 
had  announced  the  rescue. 


278      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

"Lungs  all  clear;  a  case  of  exhaustion  or  shock," 
announced  the  doctor  crisply,  and  Archie  formed  a 
high  opinion  of  her  as  a  capable  person  whom  he 
should  always  remember  gratefully. 

Ruth  declared  that  she  was  able  to  walk  but  Isabel 
became  the  object  of  their  immediate  concern.  She 
lay  in  the  boat  muttering  incoherently.  Archie 
gathered  her  up  in  his  arms  and  bore  her  to  the 
hospital  tent  where  a  nurse  awaited  them. 

"You  gentlemen  must  go  at  once  to  the  bath  house 
on  the  shore/'  ordered  the  doctor  with  a  brisk  pro 
fessional  air.  "Take  one  of  these  lanterns,  and  strip 
and  rub  yourselves  dry.  Hot  coffee  will  be  sent  you 
shortly.  As  there  isn't  a  man  on  the  place  we  can't 
offer  you  dry  clothing,  but  if  you  need  medical  atten 
tion  let  me  know." 

The  tent  flap  fell. 

"We're  lucky  devils,"  said  the  Governor,  as  they 
wrung  the  water  from  their  clothes  in  the  bath  house. 
"If  we  hadn't  been  just  where  we  were  those  girls 
would  have  drowned.  In  their  skirts  they  couldn't 
have  made  the  shore.  Lucky  I  say!" 

"We  have  some  unfinished  business,"  remarked 
Archie.  "We're  going  to  take  up  this  little  mat 
ter  with  Mr.  Carey  before  I  sleep  again." 

"Patience!"  cried  the  Governor,  now  in  high 
spirits  though  his  teeth  chattered.  "It  was  his 
inning ;  he  kept  them  from  reaching  Huddleston,  but 
we  don't  want  to  waste  our  chance  of  scoring  when 
we  goto  bat.  Patience;  and  then  more  patience!" 

:<You  don't  mean  to  say  that  you're  not  going  to 
notify  the  authorities  now?"  demanded  Archie. 
"It  would  give  me  the  greatest  satisfaction  to  send 
him  over  the  road  for  attempted  murder." 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  279 

"We  could  do  that  beyond  question;  but  I've 
already  told  you,  my  dear  boy,  that  we  are  going  to 
be  the  sole  judge  of  the  law  and  the  evidence  in  these 
matters.  I  mean  to  end  my  career  as  the  prince  of 
villains  with  a  flourish.  There  shall  be  no  loose  ends. 
My  time  is  short.  Before  the  week  is  out  I've  got  to 
tie  all  pending  matters  up  in  neat  packages  adorned 
with  pink  ribbons.  Moon,  stars  and  all  other  in 
fluences  are  just  right  for  a  successful  termination 
of  my  seven  years  of  servitude  to  the  powers  of  dark 
ness,  and  if  I  don't  shake  'em  off  at  the  exact  moment 
ordained  by  the  heavens  I'm  committed  to  another 
seven  years  of  wandering.  There  you  have  it  in  a 
nutshell.  Marriage,  home,  a  life  of  tranquil  respect 
ability  with  the  women  we  love ;  that's  ahead  of  us 
if  we  play  the  cards  right.  When  you  speak  of  call 
ing  sheriffs  into  consultation  you  make  me  slightly 
ill.  Old  sinners  like  Leary  and  me  have  no  confidence 
in  the  law's  benevolence;  and  it  may  occur  to  you 
that  inquiries  as  to  our  immediate  past  might  be 
embarrassing.  We  shall  hold  to  our  course, 
Archie!" 

A  pot  of  coffee  and  a  basket  of  sandwiches  were 
left  at  the  bath  house  door  and  they  partook  with 
the  zest  of  shipwrecked  mariners.  At  the  end  of  an 
hour,  reclad  in  their  wet  clothes,  they  huddled  at 
the  landing  waiting  for  news  from  the  hospital  tent. 
Mrs.  Perry  came  down  presently  to  report  that 
Isabel  and  RuttTwere  asleep. 

"Isabel  has  a  badly  bruised  hand  —  no  bones 
broken  but  it  was  an  ugly  smash.  She  will  have  to 
carry  it  in  a  sling  for  a  few  days." 

"Her  hand,"  Archie  murmured,  so  quaveringly 
that  Mrs.  Perry  looked  at  him  curiously. 


280  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

That  one  of  Isabel's  adorable  hands  should  be  in 
jured  enraged  him ;  he  felt  the  hurt  in  his  own  heart, 
and  he  resolved  that  Carey  should  pay  dearly  for 
an  offense  that  surpassed  all  other  crimes  that  had 
ever  been  committed  from  the  beginning  of  time. 

"  We  have  taken  every  precaution  to  guard  against 
any  unhappy  consequences  of  their  immersion," 
Mrs.  Perry  continued.  "There's  some  danger  of 
cold,  but  Dr.  Reynolds  is  a  skilful  young  woman, 
and  of  course  Isabel  and  Ruth  are  strong,  vigorous 
girls.  They  will  be  laughing  at  their  misadventures 
by  noon  tomorrow." 

"You're  lifting  our  spirits  a  lot,"  said  Archie,  and 
Leary,  standing  a  little  behind  him,  chokingly  ejacu 
lated  a  heartfelt  "thank  God!" 

"I  wish,"  said  Mrs.  Perry,  "we  might  proclaim 
to  the  world  your  gallant  conduct ;  but  for  any  re 
port  of  this  matter  to  get  abroad  would  be  disastrous, 
a  dire  calamity,  as  you  can  see.  The  camp  day  be 
gins  early,  and  it  would  be  best  for  you  to  return 
to  Huddleston  and  keep  silent  as  to  the  accident." 

"We  appreciate  all  that,  and  you  may  count  on 
our  discretion,"  said  the  Governor.  "Let  me  say 
first  that  as  to  the  danger  of  starvation,  you  need 
have  no  fear  on  that  score.  I  wired  yesterday  for 
a  tug  I'm  somewhat  interested  in  to  pick  up  supplies 
at  Harbor  Springs  and  it  will  put  in  here  some  time 
during  the  afternoon." 

"You  are  wonderful!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Perry. 
"After  you  ran  past  the  barricade  so  successfully 
and  delivered  the  little  Congdon  girl  I've  been  sure 
Ruth's  confidence  in  you  isn't  misplaced." 

"That  was  a  trifling  matter.  I  wish  you'd  tell 
me  before  we  leave  just  how  much  credence  you  give 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      281 

this  buried  treasure  story  ?  While  we're  about  it 
we  must  go  to  the  bottom  of  that." 

The  rays  of  the  lantern  Archie  held  disclosed  an 
incredulous  smile  on  Mrs.  Perry's  face.  She  was  a 
tall  handsome  woman,  very  like  Isabel,  even  in  the 
tones  of  her  voice  and  in  an  occasional  gesture;  and 
she  had  Isabel's  fine  eyes. 

"  I've  never  thought  that  more  than  a  fairy  tale," 
she  said.  "I  should  not  want  you  gentlemen  to 
waste  time  or  run  the  risk  of  bodily  injury  in  looking 
for  chests  of  money  that  may  never  have  been  buried 
here  at  all.  There  was,  to  be  sure,  a  considerable 
fortune,  but  my  father-in-law,  whom  I  never  saw, 
would  have  been  much  'likelier  to  distribute  it  among 
banks  in  the  northern  states  or  in  Canada.  Richard 
Carey  evidently  believes  the  story,  though  from  his 
actions  I'm  inclined  to  think  him  utterly  mad.  He's 
going  to  desperate  lengths  to  search  for  the  treasure. 
His  conduct  is  tinged  a  good  deal  with  resentment 
because  Isabel  has  repeatedly  refused  to  marry  him. 
He's  a  ne'er-do-well,  a  blacksheep  and  a  disgrace  to 
his  family." 

The  Governor  sighed  deeply. 

"I  sometimes  wonder  that  there's  any  white  wool 
in  the  world  ;  there  are  so  many  of  these  skittish 
little  black  lambkins  scattered  over  the  pastures  ! " 

"They  make  uncomfortable  neighbors!"  Mrs. 
Perry  exclaimed,  so  heartily  that  they  all  laughed. 

On  the  silent  shore  with  the  tents  of  Heart  o' 
Dreams  Camp  slowly  emerging  from  the  shadows 
of  the  surrounding  wood  in  the  first  glimmering  of 
dawn,  Archie  wondered  just  what  Mrs.  Perry's  feel 
ings  would  be  if  she  knew  that  she  had  been  coun 
tenancing  three  rogues,  two  of  whom  were  far- 


282      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

wandering  sheep  with  badly  spotted  fleeces  and 
the  third,  the  solemn,  silent  Leary,  with  a  trail  of 
crime  that  reached  from  ocean  to  ocean. 

She  walked  with  them  to  the  landing  and  waved 
the  lantern  in  farewell  as  they  set  forth  across  the 
brightening  waters  for  Huddleston. 


IV 

When  the  Governor  and  Archie  went  down  to 
breakfast  at  nine  o'clock  they  learned  that  Congdon 
had  risen  early  and,  declaring  that  his  arm  was  fully 
recovered,  was  fishing  from  the  wharf. 

The  Governor  drew  from  his  pocket  a  telegram 
which  Leary  had  carried  up  to  him  while  he  was 
dressing. 

"A  cipher  from  Perky  at  Harbor  Springs.  He's 
got  the  provisions  aboard  but  reports  that  he  sus 
pects  the  tug  is  being  watched.  It's  possible  of 
course  that  he  and  old  Eliphalet  were  spotted  at 
Cleveland  when  they  boarded  the  boat  and  that  the 
Government  is  keeping  an  eye  on  the  Arthur  B. 
Grover" 

Archie  fidgeted  uneasily. 

"We've  got  enough  trouble  on  hand  right  here 
without  bucking  the  Federal  authorities.  Of  course 
you'll  warn  him  at  once  not  to  put  in  here !" 

"My  reply  was  sent  instantly.  I  wired  him  to 
hold  on  to  Eliphalet  but  to  drop  all  the  men  he  didn't 
need  to  handle  the  tug  at  the  first  convenient  point 
and  send  them  singly  into  the  woods  beyond  Calder- 
ville  to  await  instructions.  This  is  a  dead  port; 
nothing  but  driftwood  has  landed  here  since  the  mill 
shut  down  three  years  ago." 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  283 

"I  tell  you  I  don't  like  this  at  all!  You  can't 
run  a  pirate  ship  through  the  Great  Lakes  without 
attracting  attention.  A  policeman  can  stand  on  the 
shore  anywhere  and  throw  a  brick  on  board  anything 
afloat." 

"Really,  you  exaggerate,  Archie,"  replied  the 
Governor  gently.  "  These  wide  and  beautiful  waters 
invite  the  adventurous  mariner  and  if  piracy  appealed 
to  me  at  all  I'd  rather  enjoy  levying  tribute  upon  the 
unprotected  cities  of  the  saltless  seas." 

Sally  brought  in  a  fresh  pot  of  coffee  and  they 
waited  for  her  to  leave  the  room. 

"Only  one  thing  interests  me,"  declared  Archie, 
"and  that's  the  immediate  cleaning  up  of  Carey. 
The  Congdons  have  begun  to  bore  me,  if  you'll  par 
don  my  saying  it !  The  old  man  and  his  plugged 
gold  pieces  and  the  will  he's  reported  to  carry  in  his 
umbrella  and  the  family  row  are  none  of  my  business. 
If  you  want  to  give  me  a  thrill  of  delight  you'll  chuck 
everything  connected  with  the  name  Congdon  and 
concentrate  on  Carey." 

"Not  so  easy,  with  our  friend  Putney  living  here 
under  the  same  roof.  Again  I  warn  you  that  we 
must  practise  patience.  Here  comes  Putney  now." 

They  had  reached  the  veranda,  where  Congdon 
joined  them,  proudly  displaying  his  string  of  perch. 
When  Leary  had  borne  his  catch  to  the  kitchen 
Congdon  became  serious. 

"Something's  happened  that  bothers  me  a  little. 
A  man  motored  up  here  awhile  ago,  looked  the 
place  over  and  asked  me  a  lot  of  questions  about 
the  hotel  and  its  guests.  You  understand,  Comly — " 

He  hesitated,  glancing  questioningly  from  Archie 
to  the  Governor. 


284  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"You  may  trust  Saulsbury.  We  have  knowl 
edge  of  some  other  things  that  make  it  necessary  for 
us  all  to  stand  together." 

"This  fellow  seemed  to  have  no  business  here," 
Congdon  continued.  "He  said  he  was  staying  at 
Calderville,  farther  down  the  road,  and  pretended 
to  be  looking  for  a  quiet  hotel  to  bring  his  family  to. 
He  thought  Huddleston  might  do.  He  looked  me 
over  in  a  way  I  didn't  like.  You  remember,  Comly, 
I  took  you  into  my  confidence  about  a  little  difficulty 
I  had  before  I  came  here  — 

"That  little  affair  on  the  Maine  coast  ?  It  was  a 
shooting,  Saulsbury,"  Archie  explained  soberly. 

"  Extraordinary  1 "  exclaimed  the  Governor.  "  Mr. 
Congdon,  you  may  command  my  services  in  any 
manner  whatsoever.  Now  and  then  it  has  been  my 
fortune  to  be  able  to  pull  a  friend  out  of  trouble. 
Pray  consider  me  wholly  at  your  service." 

He  listened  gravely  while  Congdon  described  the 
shooting  at  Bailey  Harbor.  He  was  convinced  that 
he  had  shot  a  burglar  who  died  of  the  wound, 
and  that  the  injury  from  which  he  had  just  recovered 
had  been  inflicted  by  his  victim. 

"You  have  troubled  about  this  matter  quite  un 
necessarily,"  the  Governor  declared  with  a  wave 
of  the  hand.  "I  can  see  that  yours  is  a  sensitive 
nature,  with  imagination  highly  developed.  You 
were  in  your  own  house,  and  had  every  right  to  be 
there;  and  certainly  no  jury  would  ever  convict 
you  of  murder  where  you  were  only  defending  your 
self  against  a  scoundrel  who  did  his  best  to  kill  you." 

Congdon  brightened  perceptibly  at  this  broad- 
minded  view  of  the  matter  and  flashed  a  look  of 
relief  at  Archie,  who  was  quietly  smoking. 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      285 

"It's  most  fortunate  that  we  three  have  met  here, 
gentlemen  and  murderers  all  1"  the  Governor  went 
on  airily.  "Comly  tells  me  that  he  too  has  been 
dodging  the  police.  To  make  you  both  feel  per 
fectly  at  ease  I'll  be  equally  frank  and  say  that  for 
nearly  seven  years  I've  been  mixed  up  with  the 
leading  crooks  of  this  country ;  not  for  profit ;  no, 
decidedly  not ;  but  merely  for  the  fun  of  the  thing." 

Archie  pretended  to  share  Congdon's  surprise  at 
this  confession,  delivered  without  the  quiver  of  an 
eyelash. 

"I  should  never  have  guessed  it,"  said  Congdon. 
"I  had  sized  you  up  as  a  college  professor,  or  perhaps 
a  lecturer  on  applied  ethics,"  he  added  with  a 
laugh ;  "we  hardly  look  the  black  wretches  we  are  !" 

"Let  us  hope  not!  But  now  to  business.  We 
seem  to  be  fellows  with  a  pretty  taste  for  adventure, 
and  I'm  going  to  appeal  to  your  chivalry  right  now 
to  help  me  in  a  very  delicate  and  dangerous  matter 
that  calls  for  prompt  attention.  Comly  and  I  had 
a  little  brush  with  the  enemy  last  night  and  in  our 
further  tasks  we  shall  be  glad  of  your  help." 

He  bade  Archie  tell  the  story,  interrupting  occa 
sionally  to  supply  some  detail.  When  Isabel's 
name  was  mentioned  as  the  head  of  Heart  o'  Dreams 
Camp  Congdon  sprang  to  his  feet  excitedly. 

"Isabel  Perry!  Why,"  he  flung  round  upon 
Archie,  "that's  the  girl  I  told  you  about  in  Chicago, 
who  gave  me  the  bad  advice  that  got  me  into  all  my 
trouble  with  my  wife.  So  it's  Isabel  who's  the 
custodian  of  my  daughter  !  This  is  a  queer  business, 
gentlemen." 

"Highly  interesting,  I  must  confess  ! "  the  Governor 
ejaculated.  "But  you  must  bear  no  grudge  against 


286      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

Miss  Perry;  she's  wonderful.  She  all  but  lost  her 
life  last  night.  Comly  and  I  have  solemnly  pledged 
ourselves  to  clear  up  this  whole  situation,  and  we 
invite  your  fullest  cooperation." 

"Certainly;  I  enlist  right  now.  With  my  own 
child  over  there  at  the  mercy  of  that  scoundrel  I 
couldn't  refuse.  I  assure  you  that  I  cherish  no 
resentment  against  Miss  Perry.  I  was  a  fool, 
I  suppose,  ever  to  have  let  her  influence  me.  I  was 
pretty  miserable  at  the  time  and  she  is  a  very  attrac 
tive  girl,  and  we  men,  well — " 

"Man,"  said  the  Governor,  "is  only  a  xylophone 
upon  which  any  woman  may  exercise  her  musical 
talents.  At  times  her  little  hammers  evoke  the 
pleasantest  harmonies,  but  when  it  pleases  my 
lady  she  can  produce  the  most  painful  discords. 
To  get  back  to  business,  the  tug  that's  bringing  the 
supplies  for  the  camp  is  also  towing  a  launch  for 
our  use.  We'll  meet  Mr.  Carey  on  land  or  water, 
or  in  the  air  if  he  chooses.  Now,  Congdon,  if 
you've  no  objection  to  taking  orders  from  me, 
I'll  ask  you  to  lie  off  Heart  o'  Dreams  in  the  row 
boat,  while  the  supplies  are  unloaded.  Our  land 
lord,  a  trustworthy  person  in  every  particular,  will 
go  with  you.  Comly  and  I  will  meet  the  tug  and 
pick  up  the  launch." 

"But  how  about  this  fellow  from  Calderville 
who's  nosing  round  ? "  Congdon  asked  anxiously. 
"I'll  say  right  here  that  I  have  no  intention  of  being 
hauled  back  to  Maine  to  be  tried  for  murder." 

"Take  my  word  for  it,  that  Comly  and  I  will  die 
rather  than  give  you  up.  We'll  stand  or  fall  to 
gether.  That  chap  may  not  be  looking  for  you 
at  all.  He  may  be  on  the  lookout  for  me  or 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  287 

some  pal  of  mine  on  the  tug;  they're  all  outlaws, 
desperadoes !" 

"You're  fooling,  aren't  you  ?"  demanded  Congdon 
incredulously. 

"Not  in  the  least!  Fugitives  from  justice,  every 
mother's  son  of  'em !  Only  a  few  will  be  aboard 
when  the  Arthur  B.  Grover  puts  into  Heart  o'  Dreams, 
but  there  are  enough  crooks  in  the  woods  about 
here  to  plunder  all  Michigan.  If  that  chap  from 
Calderville's  looking  for  trouble  he's  going  to  have 
his  hands  full." 

Congdon  went  into  Archie's  room  just  before  noon 
and  laid  an  automatic  pistol  on  the  dresser. 

"See  that  ?  That's  the  gun  I  shot  the  thief  with 
at  Bailey  Harbor.  Guess  I'll  take  it  with  me  this 
afternoon  for  I  know  the  infernal  thing  works  !" 

"It's  always  best  to  tote  a  gun  you've  tested," 
Archie  answered,  examining  with  unfeigned  interest 
the  weapon  Congdon  had  discharged  into  the 
mirror  in  the  Bailey  Harbor  house.  The  gun  with 
which  he  had  shot  Congdon  was  in  a  drawer  of 
his  bureau,  and  the  instant  Congdon  left  he  exam 
ined  it  for  any  marks  by  which  its  owner  might 
identify  it.  He  was  relieved  when  the  Governor 
came  in  and  assured  him  that  there  was  nothing 
to  distinguish  the  pistol  from  a  thousand  of  its 
kind. 

While  they  waited  for  the  tug's  appearance  they 
hung  off  Heart  o'  Dreams  shore,  and  the  Governor 
and  Archie  paddled  close  enough  to  talk  with  Ruth 
at  the  wharf. 

"Everything's  all  right,"  she  reported  cheerily. 
"The  doctor  is  keeping  Isabel  in  bed  today  but 
merely  to  rest.  The  bruised  hand  is  doing  nicely 


288  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

and  will  probably  heal  without  a  scar.  The  camp's 
running  smoothly  and  the  girls  don't  know  that  they 
ate  our  last  bread  and  butter  for  luncheon." 

"  You're  safe  in  putting  cookies  on  the  evening 
bill  of  fare,"  said  the  Governor.  "Has  Carey  made 
any  sign  today  ?" 

"No,  except  that  I  went  through  the  woods  this 
morning  toward  Calderville  and  found  the  road 
piled  with  logs  there  at  the  bridge  over  the  little 
brook.  I  peeped  through  the  barricade  and  saw 
some  men  with  guns — " 

"Don't  you  dare  go  near  that  place  again!" 
exclaimed  the  Governor.  "There's  a  good  mile 
between  that  point  and  the  camp  boundaries  and 
you  have  no  business  going  off  your  reservation." 

"How  terribly  you  scold  !  I  was  just  reconnoiter- 
ing  a  little." 

"That  little  might  mean  the  end  of  the  world  ! 
But  it's  worth  while  to  know  that  you  pout  when 
you're  scolded." 

The  hazards  of  the  night  had  left  no  mark  upon  her, 
and  in  the  khaki  Heart  o'  Dreams  uniform  she  would 
have  passed  for  a  carefree  boy. 

"You  look  shockingly  young,"  the  Governor  re 
marked  with  mock  resentment,  as  he  fended  the 
canoe  away  from  the  wharf.  "It  doesn't  seem 
possible  that  a  venerable  relic  like  me  would  ever 
have  any  chance  with  a  beautiful  young  goddess  like 
you." 

"Maybe  you  haven't !" 

"Don't  taunt  me,  woman,  or  I'll  let  you  starve 
to  death !  Archie,"  he  went  on,  his  delight  in  her 
bright  in  his  eyes,  "this  might  be  just  the  right 
moment  to  propose  marriage.  Your  presence  is  a 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      289 

little  embarrassing,  but  all  the  conditions  here  are 
unusual.  Ruth,  I'm  so  proud  of  myself  for  loving 
you  that  I  feel  like  proclaiming  it  to  all  the  world." 

She  picked  up  a  chip  and  threw  it  at  him  with  a 
boy's  free  swing.  He  caught  it  and  placed  it  tenderly 
in  his  pocket. 

"The  first  gift  you  ever  made  me!"  he  cried 
rapturously.  "I  shall  ask  you  to  autograph  it  later. 
I  shall  treasure  it  always!" 

"Who  are  those  gentlemen  out  yonder?"  she 
asked,  spying  Congdon  and  Leary  in  the  row  boat. 

"The  gentleman  idling  at  the  oars  is  Mr.  Leary, 
the  honest  innkeeper  from  Huddleston ;  the  other  is 
Mr.  Putney  Congdon !" 

"Not  really!  Please  don't  tell  me  we're  to  have 
another  kidnaping!" 

"Certainly  not!  Leary  was  a  valuable  member 
of  our  rescue  party  last  night  and  he's  wholly 
friendly  to  our  cause.  Mr.  Congdon  came  up  with 
Mr.  Comly  merely  to  be  near  his  daughter." 

"How  did  he  know  she  was  here?  Please  don't 
jest;  this  is  very  serious!" 

"He  knew  because  he  got  a  mysterious  message 
from  me  hinting  that  his  wife  had  sent  the  child 
here.  He's  a  charming  fellow  —  not  at  all  the 
brute  we've  been  thinking  him;  and  while  we've 
told  him  only  what  it's  best  for  him  to  know  about 
ourselves  he  cheerfully  enlisted  in  our  campaign  to 
protect  the  camp.  He's  even  now  —  " 

An  exclamation  from  Ruth  caused  Archie  and  the 
Governor  to  turn  toward  the  lake.  The  Arthur  B. 
Grover  was  steaming  slowly  into  the  bay.  A  moment 
later  Leary  whistled  to  call  attention  to  the  Carey 
launch,  which  was  running  rapidly  toward  the  camp. 


290  BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP ! 

"Keep  out  of  sight,"  said  the  Governor,  "and 
send  your  young  charges  to  play  in  the  woods. 
We  don't  want  witnesses  if  anything  disagreeable 
happens  while  we're  unloading." 

"Please,"  she  cried,  turning  to  go,  "take  care  of 
yourselves !  We'd  better  give  up  the  fight  right 
now  than  have  you  hurt!" 

"It  was  pretty  nice  of  her  to  say  that,  Archie," 
said  the  Governor  soberly,  watching  her  as  she 
disappeared  down  a  long  lane  of  tents.  "We'll  see 
some  fun  now  if  Carey  cuts  any  capers." 

"He'll  hardly  ram  the  tug,  though  he  may  be  fool 
enough  to  try  it." 

The  Arthur  B.  Grover  had  rounded  the  point  and 
was  feeling  its  way  toward  Heart  o'  Dreams. 

Archie  recognized  Perky,  industriously  taking 
soundings  and  lazily  giving  orders  to  the  man  at  the 
wheel. 

"How  much  does  she  show  ?"  called  the  Governor. 

"A  coupla  clothes  lines  deep,"  replied  Perky 
without  taking  the  pipe  from  his  mouth. 

His  air  of  unconcern,  his  complete  absorption  in 
the  business  of  getting  the  tug  in  position  to  unload, 
the  nonchalant  manner  in  which  he  directed  the 
pilot,  greatly  enhanced  Archie's  admiration  for  Perky. 

Two  men  were  rigging  up  a  crane  to  land  the  bags, 
boxes  and  crates  that  were  piled  on  deck  in  prodigal 
profusion. 

"There's  our  new  launch  trailing  behind  like 
clouds  of  glory,"  said  the  Governor.  "A  very 
snappy  little  affair  it  is." 

"And  a  very  snappy  little  man  is  hanging  over  the 
rail  of  the  tug  gripping  an  umbrella.  How  do  you 
suppose  Perky's  explaining  all  this  to  Eliphalet  ?" 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      291 

"Trust  Perky  to  be  plausible.  Wait  till  father 
Congdon  sees  Putney  and  you'll  hear  an  imitation 
of  the  ichthyosaurus  singing  its  song  of  hate." 

Carey's  launch  had  effected  a  half  circle  round 
Heart  o'  Dreams  landing  and  was  now  drawing 
nearer.  There  were  two  men  aboard  and  Leary, 
having  put  himself  between  the  launch  and  the  tug, 
signaled  the  Governor  by  lifting  one  arm  high  over 
his  head,  and  then  extending  it  horizontally.  A 
careless  observer  would  have  thought  he  was  only 
stretching  himself. 

"That  means,"  the  Governor  explained,  "that 
there's  a  suspicious  person  on  Carey's  launch ; 
and,"  he  continued,  after  watching  Leary's 
further  telegraphing,  "that  Congdon  has  identified 
him  as  the  gentleman  who  interviewed  him  at 
Huddleston  this  morning.  Everything's  going 
smoothly." 

By  the  time  the  Arthur  B.  Grover  had  warped  in, 
Carey  had  brought  his  launch  to  within  a  dozen 
yards  of  the  tug,  and  his  companion  was  standing 
up  anxiously  scrutinizing  the  men  on  board. 

"Prisoners!"  he  bawled;  "every  one  of  you  a 
prisoner  !  I  know  you,  Perky ;  and  you  needn't  try 
any  tricks  on  me  or  it'll  be  the  worse  for  you.  And 
don't  you  fellows  on  that  wharf  try  any  funny  busi 
ness  with  me !" 

Perky,  busily  getting  the  crane  in  working  order, 
paid  no  heed  whatever  to  these  threats  uttered  in 
the  authoritative  tone  of  one  who  is  confident  of  the 
support  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States. 
Carey  loudly  seconded  the  detective's  demand  for 
the  immediate  and  unconditional  surrender  of  the 
tug. 


292      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

''Trapped !     Lost!"  cried  Eliphalet,  tragically. 

"You're  mighty  right  you're  lost  I"  yelled  the 
officer.  "You're  a  nice  old  scoundrel,  to  be  cir 
culating  plugged  gold  pieces,  and  a  rich  man  at  that ! 
You're  pinched ;  do  you  understand  ?  You're  under 
arrest!" 

The  effect  of  this  shot  was  to  cause  Eliphalet  to 
attempt  to  climb  from  the  tug  to  the  wharf  but  the 
Governor  seized  a  paddle  and  gently  urged  him  back. 

"I  beg  of  you,  Mr.  Congdon,  don't  be  disturbed. 
That  person  in  the  launch  can't  harm  you  in  the 
least.  He  may  be  annoying,  yes;  and  his  voice 
is  extremely  disagreeable,  but  really  his  utterances 
are  unworthy  of  the  attention  of  honest  men." 

"Who  the  deuce  are  you?"  demanded  Eliphalet, 
leveling  his  umbrella  at  the  Governor.  "It  occurs 
to  me  we  have  met  before." 

"Thanks  for  the  compliment !  "  the  Governor  an 
swered,  dodging  a  heavy  crate,  the  first  of  the  freight 
to  be  swung  ashore. 

Perky  was  thoroughly  prepared  for  the  expeditious 
delivery  of  his  cargo,  even  to  wheelbarrows  in  which 
three  men  now  began  trundling  supplies  up  the  wharf 
and  along  the  beach  to  the  camp  store  house.  The 
work  was  proceeding  rapidly,  without  noise  or  con 
fusion,  and  Archie  and  the  Governor  were  busily 
assisting  when  the  shore  was  startled  by  a  yell. 

Leary  and  Congdon  in  the  row  boat  had  been 
stealing  up  behind  Carey's  launch.  Leary  sprang 
aboard  while  the  two  occupants  were  watching  the 
landing  of  the  stores. 

Carey,  diving  under  Leary's  arms,  seized  a  club 
and  knocked  him  overboard.  The  detective  jumped 
into  the  water  and  swam  to  the  wharf,  where  he  was 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      293 

immediately  overpowered  and  hauled  aboard  the 
tug.  By  this  time  Carey  was  steering  for  the  middle 
of  the  bay,  where  he  watched  the  tug  for  a  while  and 
then  retired  toward  his  camp. 

Leary  had  crawled  upon  the  pier  and  was  dis 
consolately  shaking  the  water  out  of  his  shoes. 

"It  was  a  good  try,  old  man,"  said  the  Governor 
cheerily.  "That  fellow's  not  going  to  be  easy  to 
bag,  but  we've  got  a  detective  on  our  hands,"  he 
chuckled,  "and  I  don't  know  just  how  we're  going 
to  let  loose  of  him." 

Putney  Congdon  had  rowed  close  to  the  wharf  to 
pick  up  Leary.  As  the  Governor  had  predicted, 
Eliphalet  Congdon  emitted  a  loud  and  not  wholly 
melodious  howl  as  he  recognized  his  son. 

"Hey  there!  You've  been  following  me !  I  told 
you  to  stay  at  the  farm  and  here  you  come  sneaking 
after  me  away  up  here  where  I've  come  for  rest." 

"You  were  never  more  mistaken  in  your  life!" 
replied  Putney.  "I  came  up  here  to  see  Edith  and 
found  that  that  fellow  you  saw  in  the  launch  was 
trying  to  starve  out  this  camp." 

"Edith  here?  Who  says  Edith's  here?  You're 
out  of  your  senses !  You  know  perfectly  well  the 
child's  in  Ohio!" 

"Break  in  on  that  dialogue,"  said  the  Governor 
to  Archie.  "Those  men  will  never  get  anywhere 
yelling  at  each  other.  I'll  attend  to  Eliphalet 
after  we  land  the  freight." 

"If  that  wife  of  yours  has  stolen  Edith  I'll  have 
the  law  on  her!"  screamed  Eliphalet.  "She's  not 
fit  to  have  the  care  of  children  !" 

Archie  walked  to  the  edge  of  the  wharf  and  com 
manded  Eliphalet  to  hold  his  peace. 


294  BLACKSHEEP !     BLACKSHEEP ! 

"Putney,  row  out  a  few  hundred  yards  and  watch 
Carey.  You  needn't  worry  about  your  father. 
We'll  find  some  way  of  getting  him  out  of  his  scrapes." 

The  detective,  who  had  been  lashed  to  the  pilot 
house,  roused  himself  to  shout : 

"  You'll  make  a  nice  mess  of  it  trying  to  get  him 
away  from  the  Government.  The  whole  lot  of 
you  are  crooks,  and  you're  holding  me  at  your  peril." 

The  discharge  of  freight  had  not  ceased  during 
this  colloquy.  The  crane  swung  over  the  wharf 
at  regular  intervals,  and  the  men  with  the  wheel 
barrows  trotted  back  and  forth  with  the  spirit  and 
agility  of  men  intent  upon  finishing  an  honest  day's 
work.  As  Putney  Congdon,  mystified  but  obedient, 
rowed  away,  his  father  began  begging  Perky  to 
leave  the  place  and  steer  for  Canada. 

"You  promised  to  protect  me  but  you've  made  a 
fool  of  me,"  the  old  man  wailed.  "You  betrayed 
me  to  the  police;  you — " 

The  Governor  flung  a  sack  of  potatoes  into  a 
wheelbarrow,  and  surveyed  the  infuriated  Eliphalet 
for  a  moment. 

"Pray  calm  yourself,  Mr.  Congdon,  and  please 
be  careful  how  you  charge  people  with  serious 
crimes.  It  seems  to  be  an  obsession  with  you  that 
everybody  on  earth  is  a  crook.  The  proposition 
interests  me  psychologically.  When  I  get  through 
wi.th  this  freight  I'll  look  at  your  data.  Meanwhile 
I  solemnly  warn  you  to  make  no  charge  against  me 
or  any  friends  of  mine  that  you  can't  prove." 

It  was  five  o'clock  when  the  last  of  the  cargo  was 
landed  in  the  store  house.  The  engineer  (a  gentle 
man  whose  grimy  face  and  mournful  eyes  belied  his 
record  as  a  hold-up  man)  sounded  the  whistle. 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  295 

Ruth  ran  down  to  the  shore  and  Archie  and  the 
Governor  went  to  meet  her. 

"O  you  angels!"  she  cried.  "I've  just  taken  a 
peep  into  the  store  house  and  you've  given  us  enough 
food  to  last  all  next  summer.  It's  perfectly  splendid. 
I  wasn't  watching  —  really,  I  wasn't  —  for  I  had 
to  keep  the  girls  busy;  but  you  did  have  trouble 
of  some  sort  ?" 

"Nothing  of  the  slightest  consequence/'  the 
Governor  answered.  "We  tried  to  catch  Carey 
but  he  was  too  quick  for  us.  But  we  did  pick  up  a 
friend  of  his  —  the  gentleman  you  see  giving  an 
exhibition  of  haughty  disdain  out  there  on  the  tug. 
Keep  everybody  well  under  cover  tonight  and  don't 
be  alarmed  by  anything  you  hear.  We'll  soon  be 
through  with  this  business." 

"Who's  that  funny  little  man  on  the  tug?  He 
seems  anxious  to  attract  attention!" 

Eliphalet  Congdon  was  engaged  in  an  argument 
with  the  detective,  who,  being  helpless,  was  obliged 
to  endure  a  tirade  the  old  gentleman  was  delivering 
to  the  accompaniment  of  an  occasional  prod  of  the 
inevitable  umbrella. 

"That,"  said  the  Governor,  "is  Edith  Congdon's 
paternal  grandfather;  an  estimable  person  fallen 
upon  evil  times." 

"You  don't  mean  Mr.  Eliphalet  Congdon !" 

"Most  emphatically  I  do." 

"And  have  he  and  his  son  settled  their  differ 
ences?" 

"Not  so  you  would  notice  it!  But  they'll  be 
loving  each  other  when  I  get  through  with  them." 

"Do  you  know,"  said  the  girl,  looking  wonderingly 
into  the  Governor's  eyes,  "I  don't  suppose  I  could 


296  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

ever  learn  to  know  when  you're  fooling  and  when 
ycu're  not." 

"After  we're  married  I  shall  never  attempt  to  fool 
you.  By  the  way,"  he  added  hastily  as  she  frowned 
and  shrugged  her  shoulders,  "when  does  the  camp 
close?" 

"August  twenty,   if  Mr.   Carey  doesn't  close  it 


sooner." 


"The  date  shall  stand  without  reference  to  Carey's 
wishes,  intentions  or  acts.  Please  write  your  father 
to  be  here  on  that  last  day  and  bring  his  episcopal 
robes  with  him.  And  by  the  way,  you  spoke  of 
your  embarrassments  about  mail.  We'll  send  to  the 
Calderville  post-office  for  all  the  Heart  o'  Dreams 
mail ;  a  boat  will  deliver  it  tonight  and  pick  up 
the  camp  mail  bag.  Have  you  anything  to  add, 
Archie  ?" 

"You  might  say  to  Isabel,"  said  Archie  slowly, 
"that  August  twenty  strikes  me  as  the  happiest 
possible  date  for  our  wedding." 

"You  two  talk  of  weddings  as  though  we  were 
not  in  the  midst  of  battle,  murder  and  sudden 
death!" 

She  folded  her  arms  and  regarded  them  with  an 
odd  little  smile,  half  wistful,  half  questioning,  play 
ing  about  her  lips.  The  tug  was  drawing  away  from 
the  wharf.  Perky  sat  on  the  rail  placidly  sucking 
an  orange,  a  noble  picture  of  an  unrepentant  sinner. 
From  the  woods  floated  the  far,  faint  cries  and 
light-hearted  laughter  of  the  camp  youngsters  at 
play.  In  spite  of  his  attempt  to  imitate  the  Gov 
ernor's  jauntiness  Archie  felt  again,  as  so  often  since 
he  left  Bailey  Harbor,  the  unreality  of  the  events 
through  which  he  had  been  projected  with  his  singular 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  297 

companion,  who  had  drawn  him  so  far  out  of  his 
orbit  that  it  was  hard  to  believe  that  he  would  ever 
slip  into  it  again.  Their  affairs  had  never  presented 
so  many  problems  as  now,  when  the  Governor  was 
predicting  and  planning  the  end  with  so  much 
assurance.  In  the  few  seconds  that  Ruth  deliberated 
he  plunged  to  the  depths  in  his  despair  that  Isabel 
would  ever  seriously  consider  him  as  a  lover. 

"I  was  just  thinking,"  said  the  girl,  stepping  back 
a  little  into  a  path  that  led  from  the  beach  to  the 
woods,  "how  we  seem  to  be  living  in  the  good  old 
times,  when  knights  hastened  by  land  or  water  to 
the  rescue  of  ladies  in  distress.  This  is  all  very 
pretty  and  be  sure  we  all  appreciate  what  you  have 
done  for  us.  But  I  don't  quite  see  through  to  the 
end  !"  The  smile  was  gone  and  there  was  no  doubt 
of  the  sincerity  of  the  anxiety  that  darkened  her 
eyes  as  she  ended  with  a  little,  quavering,  despairing 
note:  "Something  serious  and  dreadful  threatens 
us,  one  and  all  of  us  maybe !  It's  only  —  what 
do  you  call  such  a  thing —  a  presentiment!" 

"Please  don't  think  of  it!'*  pleaded  Archie; 
"things  are  bound  to  come  out  all  right.  You 
mustn't  lose  faith  in  us." 

"Yes;  it  will  be  only  a  little  longer,"  muttered 
the  Governor  listlessly. 

He  had  responded  instantly  to  Ruth's  confession 
of  her  premonition  of  impending  evil,  and  Archie, 
troubled  by  his  friend's  change  of  mood,  hastened 
to  end  the  interview. 

"We're  not  going  to  lose!"  he  declared.  "It's 
when  the  world  is  brightest  that  the  shadow  of  a 
cloud  sometimes  makes  us  fear  to  trust  our  happiness. 
Good-by  and  good  luck!" 


298  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

She  was  not  reassured,  however,  and  as  she  shook 
hands  with  them  there  were  tears  in  her  eyes. 


The  Governor  quickly  recovered  his  spirits  and 
with  characteristic  enthusiasm  began  putting  the 
new  launch  through  its  paces.  Like  everything 
that  pleased  him,  the  launch  was  wonderful.  He 
called  upon  Archie  to  bear  witness  to  its  unsurpassed 
merits,  and  they  ran  out  to  the  row  boat  to  invite 
the  admiration  of  Putney  and  Leary.  Putney, 
they  found,  was  skilled  in  the  handling  of  such  craft, 
and  the  Governor  cheerfully  turned  the  launch  over 
to  him. 

''You  take  it  and  run  up  to  Calderville,  where 
you'd  better  get  supper.  Pick  up  the  Heart  o' 
Dreams  mail  and  bring  it  back  to  Huddleston,  and 
meet  us  on  the  wharf  at  nightfall.  We've  got  a 
heavy  night's  work  ahead  of  us.  Carey's  probably 
jarred  a  good  deal  to  find  that  we've  got  a  tug  and 
a  launch  to  play  with." 

"That's  all  right,  and  I'll  obey  orders,  of  course," 
said  Congdon,  wiping  the  oil  from  his  hands ; 
"but  don't  forget  that  my  father's  out  there  on  that 
tug.  I  don't  know  what  trouble  he's  in,  but  I  can't 
forget  that  he's  my  father - 

Archie,  touched  by  his  display  of  feeling,  turned 
with  a  pleading  glance  to  the  Governor,  but  the 
Governor  needed  no  prompting  to  be  kind. 

"My  dear  boy,"  he  said,  "you  may  rely  upon  me 
to  extricate  your  father  from  his  embarrassments. 
Archie  and  I  are  going  aboard  the  tug  to  study  his 
case  carefully.  If  we  don't  do  anything  else  this 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  299 

summer  we're  going  to  take  the  kink  out  of  your 
family  affairs." 

"There's  no  reason  why  you  should-  '  Putney 
began. 

"Reason!"  exclaimed  the  Governor,  snapping  his 
fingers  contemptuously,  "reasons  for  things  are  a 
horrible  bore.  In  this  pretty  good  old  world  we  must 
apologize  for  our  sins  and  weaknesses  but  not  for  our 
kind  intentions." 

As  they  boarded  the  Arthur  B.  Grover  Eliphalet 
made  no  attempt  to  speak  to  Putney  though  he 
leaned  over  the  side  and  shook  his  umbrella  at  the 
launch'  as  it  drew  away.  The  Governor  told  Perky 
to  produce  food  and  invited  Eliphalet  and  the 
detective  to  supper.  The  officer,  churlish  from  his 
bath  in  the  bay  and  his  enforced  appearance  in 
jumper  and  overalls  during  the  drying  of  his  gar 
ments,  replied  to  a  polite  inquiry  that  his  name  was 
Briggs  but  that  his  credentials  had  been  lost  in  his 
tumble  into  the  water. 

"We  shall  waive  all  formalities,"  said  the  Gov 
ernor,  "as  my  guest  your  official  connections,  real 
or  fictitious,  concern  me  not  at  all." 

Corned  beef,  crackers,  fruit  and  coffee  composed 
the  supper,  and  Eliphalet  Congdon,  Briggs,  Archie 
and  the  Governor  sat  cross-legged  on  the  deck  and 
partook  of  it  picnic  fashion. 

"A  truce  to  our  difficulties,  gentlemen!"  the 
Governor  cried,  lifting  his  tin  cup  of  coffee.  "I'm 
sure  there  are  misunderstandings  involving  all  of  us 
that  time  will  clear  up.  It's  mighty  lucky  for  you, 
Briggs,  that  we  succeeded  in  detaching  you  from  that 
chap  who  brought  you  here.  If  you  had  remained  in 
his  company  you  would  certainly  have  come  to  grief. 


300  BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP ! 

With  murderous  intent  he  ran  down  two  women 
right  here  in  the  bay  last  night.  We  saved  their  lives 
by  sheer  good  luck.  You  were  not  with  him,  I 
suppose,  and  I'll  charitably  assume  you  don't  know 
his  purpose  in  attacking  them." 

"He  says  the  girls'  camp  is  on  his  land  and  he's 
only  trying  to  drive  'em  off,"  replied  Briggs. 
"Whatever  his  game  is  it's  none  of  my  business." 

"It's  any  man's  business  to  protect  women  and 
innocent  children  from  the  malice  of  a  madman. 
To  let  you  into  a  dark  secret,  he's  got  the  idea  that 
there's  buried  treasure  somewhere  on  the  land 
occupied  by  Heart  o'  Dreams  Camp." 

"Treasure  ! "  exclaimed  Eliphalet.  "  Do  you  mean 
to  say  there's  money  buried  there?" 

"That's  the  idea,"  said  the  Governor  with  a  grim 
smile  at  the  sudden  glint  of  greed  in  the  old  man's 
eyes.  He  told  the  story,  told  it  with  flourishes  and 
decorations  that  pleased  Archie  immensely. 

"It  sounds  pretty  fishy,"  Briggs  remarked,  "but 
there  may  be  something  in  it." 

"You  never  can  tell,"  muttered  Eliphalet.  "It 
would  have  been  natural  for  one  of  those  old 
southerners  who  hadn't  any  confidence  in  Jeff  Davis 
to  plant  his  money  in  some  lonely  place  like  this." 

"In  one  way  or  another  we  are  all  seekers  of 
buried  treasure,"  remarked  the  Governor  senten- 
tiously. 

His  story  had  cleared  the  air,  giving,  as  Archie 
reflected,  a  fresh  illustration  of  the  power  of  romance 
to  soften  the  harshness  of  even  so  realistic  a  situation 
as  confronted  the  tug's  passengers.  Eliphalet's 
imagination  had  been  stirred,  and  he  asked  many 
questions  about  the  treasure.  Briggs  lost  his 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      301 

hostile  air  and  showed  himself  the  possessor  of  an 
unsuspected  amiability. 

"You  seem  to  be  a  good  fellow,"  remarked  the 
Governor,  "and  your  interest  in  the  Arthur  B. 
Grover  is  legitimate  enough,  I  daresay.  If  you  will 
promise  to  behave  and  not  try  to  leave  the  tug  or 
molest  any  one  on  board  you're  free  to  do  as  you 
like.  But  I  want  you  to  play  fair." 

"I  seem  to  be  at  your  mercy.  You've  got  to 
consider  that  my  reputation  is  at  stake.  It's  my 
duty  to  land  Mr.  Congdon  and  that  chap  you  call 
Perky  in  the  nearest  jail  and  report  their  arrest 
to  Washington." 

"Washington,"  replied  the  Governor,  drawing  his 
hand  across  his  face,  "is  a  beautiful  city;  but  it's  a 
long  way  from  here.  Be  assured  that  I'm  no  anar 
chist  and  the  delicate  matter  of  your  professional 
standing  is  something  that  shall  engage  my  most 
earnest  thought.  Please  make  yourself  comfort 
able." 

He  bade  Archie  follow  him  to  the  bow  where 
Eliphalet  was  moodily  gazing  into  the  water. 

"Mr.  Congdon,"  the  Governor  began  in  his 
blandest  tones,  "as  a  mere  looker-on  at  the  passing 
show  I'm  persuaded  that  you're  not  getting  much 
out  of  life.  A  mistake,  sir;  a  mistake  it  grieves 
me  to  see  you  making." 

"What  I  do  or  do  not  do,"  cried  the  old  man,  lift 
ing  his  umbrella  belligerently,  "is  none  of  your 
infernal  business." 

"An  error,  sir ;  an  error  of  considerable  magnitude, 
if  you  will  pardon  me !  I  wish  my  friend  here  to 
bear  witness  that  I  am  qualified  to  offer  you  ex 
cellent  advice  based  on  exact  information  as  to  your 


302      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

intimate  domestic  affairs.  You're  a  meddlesome 
person,  Mr.  Congdon,  with  a  slight  element  of 
cruelty  in  your  makeup,  of  which  let  us  hope  you  are 
not  wholly  conscious.  Morally  you  are  skidding, 
but  this  I  charitably  attribute  to  your  lack  of  a 
wholesome  and  healthy  interest  in  life.  Incidentally 
you've  done  all  you  could  to  destroy  the  happiness 
of  your  son,  who  is  a  fine  fellow  and  a  gentleman/' 

"And  his  wife,  your  daughter-in-law,  is  one  of 
the  noblest  women  in  the  world!"  interjected 
Archie,  seeing  that  the  Governor's  arraignment  was 
not  without  its  effect  on  the  odd,  crumpled  little 
figure.  However,  the  mention  of  Mrs.  Congdon 
instantly  aroused  Eliphalet's  ire. 

"That  woman  ordered  me  out  of  her  house — a 
house  I  bought  and  paid  for !  She  did  her  best  to 
make  my  son  hate  me !  She  compelled  him  to 
quit  the  businesses  I  started  for  the  sole  purpose 
of  providing  him  employment  1" 

"Your  trouble  is  that  you  never  knew  when  Put 
ney  grew  up,"  declared  the  Governor.  "You  tried 
to  boss  him  even  after  his  marriage,  and  if  Mrs. 
Congdon  turned  you  out  of  her  house  she  did  only 
what  any  self-respecting  woman  would  do.  As  the 
result  of  your  miserly  ways,  your  meddlesomeness 
and  your  selfishness,  you've  just  about  ruined  your 
life.  The  penitentiary  yawns  for  you."  Eliphalet 
shuddered,  and  a  look  of  fear  not  pleasant  to  see 
crossed  his  face.  "But,"  the  Governor  went  on, 
"in  spite  of  your  cowardly  conduct  I'm  rather  dis 
posed  to  pull  you  out  of  the  hole." 

"You  will  help ;  you  really  will  help  me  ?" 

"Not  if  you  cringe  and  whine  like  that.  If  you 
will  stand  square  on  your  feet  and  listen  to  me  I'll 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  303 

make  you  a  proposition.  Don't  flinch ;  I  don't 
want  any  of  your  money !  I've  heard  that  you 
make  a  habit  of  carrying  your  will  around  in  that 
umbrella,  for  the  ludicrous  reason  that  you  think 
you  are  not  one  of  us  absent-minded  mortals  who 
forget  our  umbrellas.  And  you  like  to  have  the 
will  handy  so  you  can  rewrite  it  when  the  mood 
strikes  you.  Give  me  that  thing ! " 

Eliphalet  hesitated,  but  the  Governor  said,  "If 
you  please,  Mr.  Congdon,"  with  all  possible  shadings 
of  courteous  insistence,  and  gently  pried  it  from  the 
old  man's  fingers. 

It  was  a  heavy,  bulgy,  disreputable-looking  um 
brella  with  a  battered  curved  handle.  The  canopy 
was  held  together  by  a  piece  of  twine.  Rather 
than  be  seen  with  so  monstrous  a  thing  any  self- 
respecting  person  would  cheerfully  take  a  drenching. 
The  Governor  opened  it,  shook  out  a  number  of 
manilla  envelopes,  all  carefully  sealed,  and  flung  the 
umbrella  from  him  as  though  it  were  an  odious  and 
hateful  thing.  As  it  struck  the  water  it  spread  open 
and  the  wind  seized  it  and  bore  it  gaily  away.  The 
Governor  watched  it  for  a  moment  with  an  ironic 
grin,  then  began  opening  the  envelopes  and  scan 
ning  the  contents. 

"I  began  life  as  a  lawyer,"  he  said  coolly,  "so 
you  needn't  fear  that  I'll  not  respect  the  sanctity 
of  these  experiments  in  the  testamentary  art." 

Archie,  taking  and  refolding  the  wills  as  the 
Governor  finished  reading  them,  marveled  at  this 
unexpected  revelation  of  his  friend's  profession  let 
fall  in  the  most  casual  fashion,  as  was  the 
Governor's  way. 

"It's  evident  from  the  dates  of  these  wills  that 


304      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

you've  been  steadily  cutting  down  the  amount  of 
your  bequest  to  your  son,"  the  Governor  was  saying, 
"so  that  if  you  died  tonight  he'd  receive  only  a 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  the  remaining  million  or 
two  going  to  humane  societies,  and  one  fat  plum,  I 
notice,  to  the  Home  for  Outcast  Cats.  The  eccen 
tricities  of  testators  have  never  impressed  me  by 
their  humor,  particularly  when  hatred  and  revenge 
are  behind  them.  You  would  malevolently  cut  off 
your  own  blood  merely  because  your  daughter-in-law 
doesn't  like  your  manners,  which  are  bad,  or  be 
cause  your  son  wouldn't  fall  in  with  your  fantastic 
schemes  of  making  money  dishonestly.  I  suppose 
you've  had  a  good  time  flourishing  these  wills  before 
your  son  and  his  wife  when  you  were  peeved,  to  let 
them  know  how  you  planned  to  punish  them.  Watch 
me,  Archie,  so  you  can  bear  witness  to  the  destruc 
tion  of  these  things;  they're  all  going  to  feed  the 
fishes  except  this  earliest  one,  which  divides  the 
property  in  generous  lumps  between  Putney  Congdon 
and  his  children,  with  a  handsome  personal  recog 
nition  of  Mrs.  Congdon.  That  shall  be  preserved." 

Eliphalet  sullenly  watched  the  Governor  as  he 
tore  the  papers  into  bits  and  flung  them  to  the  breeze, 
all  save  the  one,  which  he  again  scanned  with  sophis 
ticated  care  and  stowed  away  carefully  in  his  pocket. 

"Now,  sir;  let  us  get  down  to  business!  If  you 
will  promise  me  never  to  make  another  will  with 
out  consulting  me,  but  will  let  this  one  I've  kept 
stand,  and  if  you  agree  not  to  interfere  any  further 
with  your  son's  family  or  his  wife  or  his  children 
or  his  ox  or  his  ass  or  anything  that  is  his,  for  the 
rest  of  your  natural  life,  I'll  guarantee  that  in  due 
season  you'll  leave  this  tug  a  free  man. " 


BLACKSHEEP !  BLACKSHEEP !      305 

"You  can  do  that ;  you  are  sure  you  can  save  me  ? " 
Eliphalet's  voice  shook  and  his  hands,  thrust  out 
appealingly,  trembled  pitifully  as  he  turned  from  the 
Governor  to  Archie. 

"My  friend  can  do  what  he  says,"  said  Archie. 
"You  may  trust  him." 

"I  promise,"  said  the  old  man  steadily.  "But  I 
must  see  Putney  and  explain  about  the  coins.  It 
was  more  in  a  spirit  of  playfulness,  a  curiosity  to 
know  how  such  things  are  done  that  I  got  mixed  up 
in  that  business." 

"I  daresay  it  was  and  I'm  sure  you'll  not  repeat 
the  offense,"  said  the  Governor,  lighting  a  cigarette. 
"As  to  Putney,  I'll  arrange  the  meeting  as  soon  as 
possible." 

Eliphalet  Congdon  was  the  last  man  Archie  would 
have  expected  to  yield  to  the  Governor's  wizardry, 
or  hypnotism,  or  whatever  it  was  that  caused 
people  to  submit  to  him ;  but  the  old  man's  face 
expressed  infinite  relief  now  that  the  Governor  had 
so  insolently  assumed  the  role  of  dictator  in  his 
affairs.  The  pathos  of  the  weazened  little  figure 
now  stripped  of  its  arrogance,  and  the  assertion  of  a 
long-latent  kindliness  in  his  countenance,  encouraged 
the  hope  that  happier  times  were  in  store  for  all  the 
Congdons. 


CHAPTER  SEVEN 

I 

THE  Governor  and  Archie  were  waiting  on  the 
Huddleston  wharf  when  Putney  and  Leary  re 
turned  from  Calderville,  bringing  two  sacks  of 
Heart  o'  Dreams  mail.  Putney  had  loafed  about 
the  Calderville  post-office  and  made  purchases  in 
several  shops  to  learn  if  possible  whether  Carey's 
purpose  in  establishing  himself  in  the  woods  was 
known  to  the  villagers.  He  had,  it  seemed,  repre 
sented  himself  as  an  investigator  for  a  lumber  com 
pany  engaged  in  appraising  timber.  This  was  the 
story  he  had  told  in  Calderville  and  the  villagers 
had  not  questioned  it., 

"That's  all  right,"  said  the  Governor,  "and  serves 
our  purpose  well.  Archie,  you  and  Leary  take  the 
launch  and  carry  the  mail  over  to  Heart  o'  Dreams. 
The  tug  will  be  within  call  in  case  you  need  help. 
At  twelve  o'clock  meet  me  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  this  side  of  Carey's  barricade ;  Leary's  got  the 
place  spotted  so  he  can  find  it  in  the  dark.  Use 
a  canoe;  no  noise  and  no  lights.  Hurry  along  but 
don't  blow  up  the  launch." 

"I  have  a  surprise  for  you,"  said  Ruth  when 
Archie  delivered  the  mail  at  the  camp  office.  "I'm 
going  to  be  busy  sorting  this  mail,  but  if  you  will 
step  to  the  door,  bear  left  ten  yards  and  stop  by  a. 

306 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      307 

bench  under  our  tallest  pine,  some  one  you  pretend 
to  like  rather  particularly  may  appear,  but  just 
for  a  moment,  remember !  You  ought  to  be  eter 
nally  grateful  to  me  for  this ;  I  had  to  overcome 
both  the  doctor  and  the  nurse  and  the  prejudices 
and  suspicions  of  the  particular  person  — " 

"Isabel!"  he  exclaimed.  He  hadn't  dreamed 
that  he  might  see  Isabel. 

She  came  toward  him  out  of  the  shadows,  wrapped 
in  a  long  cloak,  carrying  a  lantern,  and  paused  by 
the  bench. 

"These  old-fashioned  lanterns  are  a  lot  nicer 
than  the  electric  flash  things,"  she  remarked. 

They  sat  down  with  the  lantern  between  them, 
her  right  hand  resting  upon  its  wire  guard  for  a 
moment.  The  glow  emphasized  its  fine  length 
and  firmness.  The  left  hand  was  bandaged  and 
he  saw  her  thrust  it  quickly  out  of  sight. 

''You  haven't  let  me  say  how  happy  I  am  that 
you  are  able  to  be  up,  or  how  grateful  I  am  for  this 
glimpse  of  you.  It's  always  just  glimpses." 

"Maybe  it's  better  that  way!  But  so  much 
happens  between  our  meetings ;  there  was  never 
anything  like  it  in  all  the  world.  Never  was  an 
acquaintance  so  pursued  by  storms !  I  wonder 
where  the  blow  will  fall  next  ?" 

"Not  on  your  head,"  he  answered  decisively, 
"not  if  the  Governor  and  I  can  prevent  it.  But 
let  us  not  waste  time  on  that ;  I  want  your  assur 
ance  that  you  are  really  well." 

"Oh,  perfectly;  not  an  ache  from  the  ducking; 
only  this  little  reminder  my  hand  will  carry  for  a 
day  or  two;  but  that's  nothing  to  worry  about !" 

There  was  a  restraint  upon  them,  due  perhaps  to 


308  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

the  calming  influence  of  the  stars,  the  murmurings 
of  the  shore  in  conference  with  the  pin^s. 

"The  things  that  have  happened  since  we  first 
met  would  make  a  large  book,"  he  said  with  an 
accession  of  courage,  "but  a  separate  volume  would 
have  to  be  written  about  your  hands." 

She  fell  back  at  once  upon  her  defenses. 

"Oh,  are  they  as  large  as  that !" 

"They  are  as  dear  as  that !" 

"How  absurd  you  are!  Here  we  are  with  only 
a  few  minutes  to  talk ;  not  more  than  ten  —  that's 
official  from  the  doctor;  and  you're  talking  foolish 
ness.  If  I  were  extremely  sensitive  I  might  imagine 
that  my  face  was  displeasing  to  you !" 

"The  face  is  too  remote,  too  sacred ;  I  wouldn't 
dare  let  myself  think  about  it.  The  hand  en 
courages  belief  in  our  common  humanity;  but  the 
face  is  divine,  a  true  key  to  the  soul.  The  hand 
we  think  of  commonly  as  a  utilitarian  device  of 
nature,  and  in  your  case  we  know  it  to  be  skilled  in 

many  gracious  arts,  but  beyond  its  decorative  values 

?? 

"Dear  me  !     Just  what  are  you  quoting  ?  ' 

"Please  suffer  the  rest  of  it !  Your  hands,  I  was 
about  to  say,  not  only  awaken  admiration  by  their 
grace  and  symmetry,  but  the  sight  of  them  does 
funny  things  to  my  heart." 

"That  heart  of  yours!  How  did  it  ever  manage 
to  survive  the  strain  and  excitement  of  last  night  ?" 

"Oh,  it  functioned  splendidly.  But  it  was  at 
work  in  a  good  cause.  Pray  permit  me  to  continue. 
Your  hands  are  adorable ;  I  am  filled  with  tenderest 
longings  to  possess  them.  If  I  should  touch  them 
I  might  die,  so  furious  would  be  my  palpitations!" 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      309 

"The  minutes  fly  and  you  are  delivering  an  ora 
tion  on  the  human  hand,  which  in  the  early  processes 
of  evolution  was  only  a  claw.  If  you  are  not  care 
ful  you'll  be  writing  poetry  next !" 

"The  future  tense  does  me  an  injustice.  I've 
already  committed  the  unpardonable  rhyme !  I 
never  made  a  verse  before  in  my  life,  and  this  hasn't 
been  confided  to  paper.  I  thought  it  out  at  odd 
moments  in  my  recent  travels.  The  humming  of 
the  wheels  on  the  sleeper  coming  up  gave  me  the 
tune.  If  you  will  encourage  me  a  little  I  think  I 
can  recite  it.  It  needs  smoothing  out  in  spots,  but 
it  goes  something  like  this : 

"  I  view  with  awe  and  wonder 

Her  hands  so  slim  and  long,  — 
I  must  not  make  the  blunder 

Of  clasping  them  —  in  song ! 

"  But  sweet  the  memory  lingers 

Of  happy  fleeting  times 
When  I  have  kissed  her  fingers 
And  folded  them  in  rhymes. 

"Hands  shouldn't  be  so  slender, 

So  dear  and  white  and  strong, 
To  waken  thoughts  so  tender 

That  fold  them  like  a  song!" 

"Charming!  I  never  thought  when  I  talked  to 
you  that  night  at  your  sister's  that  I  was  address 
ing  my  inanities  to  a  poet.  Those  are  very  nice 
jingles.  I'm  struck  by  the  imagination  they  show 
—  in  the  second  verse  I  think  it  is  —  ?" 

He  repeated  the  verse. 

"Are  you  daring  me  ?"  he  asked. 


310  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"I  dared  you  once  and  got  you  into  a  lot  of 
trouble.  Please  remember  that  we  are  unchaperoned 
and  the  dear  little  girls  asleep  in  those  tents  back 
yonder  would  be  shocked  — " 

"I  shall  make  the  shock  as  gentle  as  possible," 
he  said  and  kissed  her  unresisting  hand. 

"The  poem  seems  in  a  way  to  have  been  pro 
phetic!"  she  remarked.  "I  must  run  now  or  the 
doctor  will  scold  me,  or  I  shall  be  scolding  you !  I 
must  say  one  thing  before  we  part.  I've  had  time 
today  to  do  a  good  deal  of  thinking,  and  my  opinion 
of  myself  isn't  very  high.  Out  of  sheer  contrariness 
that  night  in  Washington  I  teased  you  into  doing 
things  that  led  you  into  grave  danger  —  and  the 
danger  is  still  all  about  us.  I'm  sorry;  with  all  my 
heart  I'm  sorry  !  If  anything  should  happen  to  you, 
it  would  be  my  fault  —  my  very  grievous  sin  !  And 
maybe  there  are  other  men  that  I  may  have  said 
similar  things  to  —  oh,  you  were  not  the  first!" 
she  laughed  forlornly.  "They,  too,  may  have 
plunged  into  the  same  pit  I  dug  for  you.  Oh,  how 
foolish  I've  been!" 

There  was  no  questioning  the  sincerity  of  her  de 
jection  and  contrition,  and  he  felt  moved  to  tell  her 
of  Putney's  confession  in  the  park  at  Chicago,  that 
they  might  laugh  together  at  the  curious  fling  of 
fate  that  had  brought  two  of  her  victims  together 
in  deadly  combat.  But  her  mood  did  not  encourage 
the  idea  that  she  would  view  the  matter  in  a  humor 
ous  light. 

"I  wish  you  could  tell  me  truly,"  she  went  on, 
"that  what  I  said  that  night  really  didn't  impress 
you ;  that  it  wasn't  responsible  for  your  giving  up 
your  plans  for  going  to  the  Rockies  ?" 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  311 

"Honestly,  I  can't  say  anything  of  the  kind! 
And  if  we  hadn't  had  the  talk,  and  if  you  hadn't  sent 
the  verse,  I  shouldn't  be  here  trying  to  help  you 


now." 


"But  it  was  flirting;  it  was  the  silliest  kind  of 
flirting!" 

"That  is  always  a  legitimate  form  of  entertain 
ment,  a  woman's  right  and  privilege !  Please  put 
all  this  out  of  your  mind  !" 

"It's  not  a  thing  to  be  dismissed  so  lightly.  I'm 
very  unhappy  about  it ;  I'm  deeply  ashamed  of 
myself!" 

"You  exaggerate  the  whole  matter,"  he  urged. 
"You  are  making  me  out  a  miserable  weakling 
indeed  when  you  think  I  ambled  off  toward  per 
dition  just  because  you  dared  me  to  assert  myself  a 
little!" 

"I  want  you  to  promise,"  she  said  slowly,  "that 
you  won't  in  any  way  interfere  with  my  cousin  here. 
I  can't  have  you  taking  further  risks.  After  last 
night  I  doubt  whether  he  bothers  us.  Ruth  feels 
as  I  do  about  it;  you  must  go  away.  You  will 
promise,  please — " 

"You  would  have  us  run  just  as  the  game  grows 
interesting !  Of  course  we're  not  going  to  quit  the 
field  and  leave  that  fellow  here  to  annoy  you  !  He's 
a  dangerous  character  and  we're  going  to  get  rid 
of  him." 

She  was  depressed,  much  as  Ruth  had  been  a 
few  hours  earlier  and  his  efforts  to  win  her  to  a 
happier  frame  of  mind  were  unavailing. 

"  I  love  you ;  I  love  you  !"  he  said  softly. 

"You  must  never  say  that  to  me  again,"  she 
said  slowly  and  determinedly.  "After  my  stupid, 
cruel  thoughtlessness  you  must  hate  me  — " 


312      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

"But,  Isabel—" 

She  seized  the  lantern  and  hurried  away,  her  head 
bowed,  the  cloak  billowing  about  her.  He  watched 
the  lantern  till  its  gleam  was  swallowed  up  in  the 
darkness. 

It  was  ten  o'clock.  Leary  had  got  the  outgoing 
mail  —  a  week's  accumulation,  and  they  crossed 
to  Huddleston  where  one  of  Perky's  men  was 
waiting  with  a  machine  to  carry  it  to  Calderville. 

:<The  Governor  didn't  want  the  launch  goin'  up 
there  ag'in,"  Leary  explained.  "He  dug  up  that  car 
somewhere." 

"The  Governor's  a  great  man,"  said  Archie. 

"The  greatest  in  the  world!"  Leary  solemnly 
affirmed. 

II 

Shortly  before  midnight  Archie  and  Leary  left 
the  Arthur  E.  Grover  and  paddled  cautiously  toward 
the  point  fixed  by  the  Governor  for  their  rendezvous. 
They  were  fortified  with  a  repeating  rifle,  a  shot 
gun  (this  was  Leary's  preference)  and  several 
packets  of  rockets  for  use  in  signaling  the  tug.  It 
was  the  strangest  of  all  expeditions,  the  more  excit 
ing  from  the  fact  that  it  was  staged  in  the  very 
heart  of  the  country.  For  all  that  shore  or  water 
suggested  of  an  encompassing  civilization,  the  canoe 
driven  by  the  taciturn  Leary  might  have  been  the 
argosy  of  the  first  explorer  of  the  inland  seas. 

Archie,  keenly  alive  to  the  importance  of  the  im 
pending  stroke,  was  aware  that  the  Governor  had 
planned  it  with  the  care  he  brought  to  the  most 
trifling  matters,  though  veiled  by  his  indifference, 
which  in  turn  was  enveloped  in  his  superstitious 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      313 

reliance  on  occult  powers.  Whether  through  some 
gift  of  prevision  the  Governor  anticipated  needs 
and  dangers  in  his  singular  life,  or  whether  he  was 
merely  a  favorite  of  the  gods  of  good  luck,  Archie 
had  never  determined,  but  either  way  the  man  who 
called  himself  Saulsbury  seemed  able  to  contrive 
and  direct  incidents  with  the  dexterity  of  an  expert 
stage  hand.  The  purchase  of  the  Arthur  B.  Grover 
had  seemed  the  most  fantastic  extravagance,  but 
the  tug  had  already  proved  to  be  of  crucial  im 
portance  in  the  prosecution  of  their  business.  The 
seizure  of  Eliphalet  Congdon  had  been  justified ; 
Perky  and  Leary  were  valuable  lieutenants  and  the 
crew  of  jailbirds  wras  now  to  be  utilized  as  an  offen 
sive  army. 

Leary,  restless  because  he  couldn't  smoke,  spoke 
only  once,  to  inquire  Archie's  judgment  as  to 
the  passage  of  time.  The  old  fellow,  long  accus 
tomed  to  lonely  flights  after  his  plunderings,  pos 
sessed  the  acutely  developed  faculties  of  a  preda 
tory  animal ;  and  the  point  at  which  they  were  to 
debark  having  been  fixed  in  his  mind  in  a  daylight 
survey  he  paddled  toward  it  with  certainty.  He 
managed  his  paddle  so  deftly  that  there  was  hardly 
a  drip  that  could  announce  their  proximity  to  any 
one  lying  in  wait  on  the  bay.  Several  minutes 
before  Archie  caught  the  listless  wash  of  calm  water 
on  a  beach,  Leary  heard  it  and  paused,  peering  at 
the  opaque  curtain  of  the  woodland  beyond  the 
lighter  shadow  of  the  shore. 

"We  struck  it  right,"  he  announced,  returning 
from  an  examination  of  the  shore  markings. 

They  carried  the  canoe  into  the  wood  and  lay 
down  beside  it,  communicating  in  whispers. 


3 14      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

"That  girls'  camp's  on  th'  right;  Carey's  place 
to  the  left.  Hear  that !  "  His  quick  ear  caught  the 
faint  moan  of  a  locomotive  whistle  far  to  the  south. 
It  was  a  freight  crossing  a  trestle,  he  said,  though 
Archie  had  no  idea  of  how  he  reached  this  con 
clusion. 

"Th*  rest  o9  th'  boys  are  away  off  yonder,"  and  he 
lifted  Archie's  hand  to  point. 

"How  many?"  asked  Archie,  who  had  never 
known  the  number  of  men  dropped  from  the  tug 
to  make  the  swing  round  Carey's  fortress. 

"Ten;  and  a  purty  sharp  bunch!  You  be  dead 
sure  they're  right  er  ole  Governor  wouldn't  have 
'em!" 

Leary's  confidence  in  the  Governor  as  a  judge  of 
character  reenforced  Archie's  own  opinion  of  the 
leader's  fitness  to  command.  That  he  should  have 
been  received  into  the  strange  brotherhood  of  the 
road,  which  the  Governor  controlled  with  so  little 
friction,  never  ceased  to  puzzle  him.  He  was 
amused  to  find  himself  feeling  very  humble  beside 
Leary,  a  poor,  ignorant,  unmoral  creature,  whose 
loyalty  as  manifested  in  his  devotion  to  the 
Governor  was  probably  the  one  admirable  thing  in 
his  nature. 

"Somebody  may  get  hurt  if  we  come  to  a  scrim 
mage,"  he  suggested.  "  What  do  you  think  of  the 
chances  ?" 

"When  ole  Governor's  bossin'  things  I  don't  do 
no  thinkin',"  the  old  man  answered.  He  raised  his 
head,  catching  a  sound  in  the  gloom,  and  tapped 
Archie's  shoulder.  "It's  him,  I  reckon." 

An  instant  later  the  Governor  threw  himself  on 
the  ground  beside  them.  He  was  breathing  hard 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      315 

and  lay  on  his  back,  his  arms  flung  out,  completely 
relaxed,  for  several  minutes.  Archie  had  often 
wondered  at  his  friend's  powers  of  endurance;  he 
rarely  complained  of  fatigue,  and  very  little  sleep 
sufficed  him.  He  sat  up  suddenly  and  said  crisply : 

"Well,  boys,  everything's  ready!" 

One  by  one  his  little  army  assembled,  rising  from 
the  ground  like  specters.  They  gathered  stolidly 
about  the  Governor,  who  flashed  his  electric  lamp 
over  their  faces,  —  evil  faces  and  dull  faces,  with 
eyes  bold  or  shrinking  before  the  quick  stab  of  the 
gleam. 

"Remember,  you're  not  to  shoot  except  in  self- 
defense,"  said  the  Governor.  "It's  Carey,  the 
leader,  we're  after.  Those  poor  fools  he's  got  with 
him  think  there's  big  money  in  this ;  I've  told  you 
all  about  that.  They  may  run  and  they  may  put 
up  a  fight,  but  Carey  must  be  taken  prisoner. 
Spread  out  four  paces  apart  for  the  advance,  and 
move  in  a  slow  walk.  When  you  hear  me  yell  I'll 
be  on  top  of  the  barricade.  That's  your  signal  for 
the  dash  to  go  over  and  get  him." 

Leary  was  already  deploying  the  men.  The  Gov 
ernor  laid  his  hand  on  Archie's  shoulder.  In  the 
contact  something  passed  between  them,  such  a 
communication  as  does  not  often  pass  from  the 
heart  of  one  man  to  another. 

"If  it  comes  to  the  worst  for  me,  you  and  Isabel 
will  look  out  for  Ruth.  I  needn't  ask  you  that. 
Use  the  tug  quickly  to  clear  things  up  here;  there 
must  be  nothing  left  to  tell  the  tale.  See  that  old 
man  Congdon  keeps  his  promise.  That  will  of  his 
is  in  my  blue  serge  coat  in  the  closet  of  my  room. 
If  I  die,  bury  me  on  the  spot ;  no  foolishness  about 


316      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

that.     I  died  to  the  world  seven  years  ago  tonight, 
so  a  second  departure  will  call  for  no  flowers !" 

Tears  welled  in  Archie's  eyes  as  he  grasped  his 
friend's  hand  there  in  the  dark  wood  under  the 
world-old  watch  of  the  stars. 

Leary  reported  everything  in  readiness,  and  the 
signal  to  go  forward  was  given  by  a  hand-clasp 
repeated  along  the  line.  Archie  kept  at  the  Gov 
ernor's  heels  as  they  advanced,  pausing  every  fifty 
paces  for  a  methodical  inspection  of  the  company 
by  Leary  and  Perky,  the  latter  having  left  the  tug 
in  charge  of  the  engineer  and  joined  the  party  last 
of  all. 

When  they  reached  the  little  stream  that  defined 
the  boundary  of  Heart  o'  Dreams  territory  the 
Governor,  Archie  and  Leary  got  in  readiness  for 
their  dash  across  the  bridge  and  over  the  barricade. 
The  purl  of  water  eager  for  its  entrance  into  the  bay 
struck  upon  Archie's  ear  with  a  spiteful  insistence. 

" There  must  be  no  chance  of  these  fellows  break 
ing  past  us  and  frightening  the  women  at  Heart 
o'  Dreams,"  said  the  Governor.  "We've  got  to 
make  a  clean  sweep.  But  it's  Carey  we  want, 
preferably  alive!" 

There  was  not  a  sound  from  the  farther  side  of 
the  stream.  They  crawled  across  the  bridge  and 
Archie  ran  his  hand  over  the  frame  of  logs  against 
which  stones  had  been  heaped  in  a  rough  wall,  as  the 
Governor  had  explained  to  him.  Archie  had  de 
termined  to  thwart  his  friend's  purpose  to  lead  the 
assault,  but  while  he  was  seeking  a  footing  in  the 
crevices  the  Governor  swung  himself  to  the  top. 
His  foot  struck  a  stone  perched  on  the  edge  and  it 
rolled  down  into  the.  camp  with  a  great  clatter. 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  317 

As  though  it  had  touched  a  trigger  a  shot-gun 
boomed  upon  the  night,  indicating  that  Carey  had 
not  been  caught  napping.  Orders  given  in  a  shrill 
voice  and  answering  shouts  proclaimed  the  marshal 
ing  of  his  forces.  Archie  and  Leary  reached  the 
Governor  as  he  was  crawling  over  the  stones.  Some 
one  threw  a  shovelful  of  coals  upon  a  heap  of  wood 
that  evidently  had  been  soaked  in  inflammable  oil, 
for  the  flames  rose  with  a  roar.  \ 

It  may  have  been  that  Carey  had  grown  wary  of 
murder  as  a  means  of  gaining  his  end  after  the  esca 
pade  of  the  previous  night,  for  the  first  move  of  his 
men  was  to  attempt  to  drive  out  the  invaders  with 
rifles  swung  as  clubs.  Carey  screamed  at  them 
hysterically,  urging  them  to  greater  efforts. 

"Fight  for  the  gold,  boys  !     Fight  for  the  gold  !" 

It  seemed  impossible  that  the  men  he  had  lured 
to  his  camp  with  the  promise  of  gold  would  not  see 
that  he  was  mad.  He  flung  himself  first  upon  one 
and  then  another  of  the  attacking  party,  a  fanatical 
gleam  in  his  eyes.  Once,  with  two  of  his  supporters 
at  his  back,  he  directed  his  fury  against  Archie. 
This  invited  a  general  scrimmage  in  which  weapons 
were  cast  aside  and  fists  dealt  hard  blows.  When 
it  ended  Archie  lay  with  friends  and  enemies  piled 
upon  him  in  a  squirming  mass.  He  got  upon  his 
feet,  his  face  aching  from  a  blow  from  a  brawny  fist, 
and  found  the  two  sides  taking  account  of  injuries 
and  maneuvering  for  the  next  move. 

The  great  bonfire  kept  the  belligerents  constantly 
in  sight  of  each  other,  skulking,  dodging,  engaging 
in  individual  encounters  poorly  calculated  to  bring 
victory  to  either  side.  One  of  Carey's  men  lay  near 
the  barricade,  insensible  from  a  crack  over  the  head 


318      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

from  a  rifle  butt.  His  plight  was  causing  uneasi 
ness  among  his  comrades,  who  began  drawing  back 
toward  the  shadows.  Carey,  seeing  that  their  pluck 
was  ebbing,  cursed  them.  Only  seven  of  the  Gov 
ernor's  party  had  entered  the  barricade,  the  others 
having  been  left  outside  to  prevent  a  retreat  toward 
Heart  o'  Dreams  in  case  the  enemy  attempted  flight. 

"We  ain't  gettin'  nowhere!"  growled  Leary  at 
the  end  of  a  third  inconclusive  hand-to-hand  struggle 
with  only  a  few  battered  heads  as  the  result. 

"There's  gold  for  all  of  you !"  screamed  Carey  to 
his  men,  and  urged  them  to  another  attack. 

They  advanced  again,  but  Archie  was  quick  to 
see  that  they  came  into  the  light  reluctantly  and 
precipitated  themselves  half-heartedly  into  the 
struggle.  The  Governor,  too,  was  aware  of  their 
diminished  spirit  and  got  his  men  in  line  for  a  charge. 

"We'll  clean  'em  up  this  time,  boys!"  he  called 
encouragingly. 

He  took  the  lead,  walking  forward  calmly,  and  in  a 
low  tone  pointing  out  the  individual  that  each  should 
attack.  The  quiet  orderliness  of  the  movement,  or 
perhaps  it  was  a  sense  of  impending  defeat,  roused 
Carey  to  a  greater  fury  than  he  had  yet  shown. 
As  the  invaders  broke  line  for  the  assault,  he  leaped 
at  the  Governor  and  swung  at  him  viciously  with 
a  rifle.  The  Governor  sprang  aside  and  the  gun 
slipped  from  Carey's  hands  and  clattered  against 
the  barricade. 

Angered  by  his  failure,  and  finding  his  men 
yielding,  Carey  abruptly  changed  his  tactics.  He 
ran  back  beyond  the  roaring  fire  and  caught  up 
another  rifle.  Leary  began  circling  round  the 
flames  in  the  hope  of  grappling  with  him,  but  he 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  319 

was  too  late.     Without  taking  time  for  aim,  Carey 
leveled  the  weapon  and  fired  through  the  flames. 

Archie,  struggling  with  a  big  woodsman,  beat 
him  down  and  turned  as  the  shot  rang  out.  The 
Governor  was  standing  apart,  oddly  and  strangely 
alone  it  seemed  to  Archie,  and  he  was  an  eternity 
falling.  He  raised  himself  slightly,  carrying  his  rifle 
high  above  his  head,  and  his  face  was  uplifted  as 
though  in  that  supreme  moment  he  invoked  the 
stars  of  his  dreams.  Then  he  pitched  forward  and 
lay  very  still. 

Carey's  shot  seemed  to  have  broken  the  tacit 
truce  against  a  resort  to  arms.  There  was  a  sharp 
fusillade,  followed  by  a  scramble  as  the  belligerents 
sought  cover.  The  men  who  had  been  left  outside 
now  leaped  over  the  barricade.  The  appearance 
of  reenforcemfents  either  frightened  Carey  or  the  suc 
cess  of  his  shot  had  awakened  a  new  rage  in  his 
crazed  mind,  for  he  emptied  his  rifle,  firing  wildly 
as  he  danced  with  fantastic  step  toward  the  prone 
figure  of  the  Governor. 

Archie,  his  heart  a  dead  weight  in  his  breast,  re 
solved  that  the  Governor's  last  charge  to  him  should 
be  kept.  He  saw  Congdon  beyond  the  light  of  the 
conflagration  taking  aim  at  Carey  with  careful  calcu 
lation.  Carey  must  not  be  killed ;  no  matter  what 
the  death  toll  might  be,  the  man  responsible  for  it 
must  be  taken  alive.  He  raised  his  hand  as  a 
signal  to  Congdon  not  to  fire,  and  waited,  hanging 
back  in  the  shadows,  watching  the  wild  gyrations 
of  the  madman.  Carey  seemed  now  to  be  oblivious 
to  everything  that  was  happening  about  him  as  he 
continued  his  dance  of  triumph.  In  the  midst  of 
this  weird  performance,  suddenly  widening  the  cir- 


320      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

cumference  of  his  operations,  he  stumbled.  As  he 
reeled  Archie  rushed  in,  gripping  his  throat  and  fall 
ing  upon  him. 

The  breath  went  out  of  the  man  as  he  struck  the 
ground,  and  Archie  jumped  up  and  left  him  to  Cong- 
don  and  Leary. 

Perky  was  kneeling  beside  the  Governor  tearing 
open  his  shirt  which  was  already  crimson  from  a 
fast-flowing  wound. 

"He's  hurt  bad;  it's  the  end  of  him!"  muttered 
the  old  man  helplessly. 

"There's  nothing  to  be  done  here,"  said  Archie, 
tears  coursing  down  his  cheeks  as  he  felt  the  Gov 
ernor's  faltering  pulse.  "We  must  cross  to  Huddle- 
ston  as  quickly  as  possible." 

At  Carey's  downfall  his  men  fled  through  the 
woods,  pursued  by  several  of  the  Governor's  party. 
Perky  seized  the  rockets  and  touched  one  after  the 
other  to  the  flames  of  the  bonfire.  The  vari 
colored  lights  were  still  bright  in  the  sky  when  the 
answering  signal  rose  from  the  bay. 

"The  tug's  moving  up,"  said  Perky. 

A  thousand  and  one  things  flitted  through  Archie's 
mind.  The  Governor  had  not  opened  his  eyes ;  his 
breath  came  in  gasps,  at  long,  painful  intervals.  To 
summon  aid  through  the  usual  channels  would  be 
to  invite  a  scrutiny  of  their  operations  that  could 
only  lead  to  complications  with  the  law  and  a  re 
sulting  publicity  that  was  to  be  avoided  at  any 
hazard.  If  a  doctor  were  summoned  from  Calder- 
ville,  he  would  in  all  likelihood  feel  it  to  be  his  duty 
to  report  to  the  authorities  the  fact  that  he  had  a 
wounded  patient.  It  was  hardly  fair  to  call  upon 
the  young  woman  physician  at  Heart  o'  Dreams, 


BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP !  321 

and  yet  this  was  the  only  safe  move.  While  Perky 
and  Leary  were  fashioning  a  litter  he  knelt  beside 
the  Governor,  laving  his  face  with  water  from  the 
brook.  He  despatched  two  messengers  to  Heart  o' 
Dreams,  one  through  the  woods  and  the  other  in  a 
canoe. 

They  would  make  the  crossing  in  Carey's  launch, 
while  the  tug,  now  showing  its  lights  close  inshore 
could  be  sent  for  the  doctor.  Two  men  had  already 
started  for  the  beach  with  Carey  bound  and  gagged 
and  he  was  to  be  kept  on  the  tug  until  some  way 
could  be  found  of  disposing  of  him. 

"I'll  stay  behind;  I  gotta  clean  up  here;  you 
don't  need  to  know  nothin'  about  it,"  said  Leary 
gruffly. 

One  of  Carey's  men  had  been  shot  and  instantly 
killed  and  another  still  lay  unconscious  near  the 
barricade  from  his  battering  on  the  head  early  in 
the  fight.  Leary  grimly  declared  that  the  others 
would  not  be  likely  to  talk  of  their  night's  adven 
ture. 

It  had  been  a  foolhardy  undertaking,  with  poten 
tialities  of  exposure  and  danger  that  added  fear  to 
the  grief  in  Archie's  heart  at  the  Governor's  fall.  At 
best  the  thing  was  horrible,  and  but  for  the  coolness 
with  which  Leary  and  Perky  were  meeting  the  situa 
tion  Archie  would  have  been  for  abandoning  any 
attempt  at  secrecy. 

"It  was  th'  ole  Governor's  way  o'  doin'  it,"  said 
Leary,  as  though  reading  Archie's  thoughts.  "Ole 
Governor  never  made  no  mistakes.  We  ain't  agoin' 
to  make  no  mistakes  now,  doin'  what  he  tole  us  not 
to  do.  I'll  go  back  and  bury  that  poor  devil  and 
cover  up  the  place.  I  guess  he's  luckier  bein' 


322  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

dead  anyhow.  An'  then  I'll  wake  up  that  other 
cuss  an'  get  rid  of  'im.  All  you  gotta  do  is  t'  ferget 
about  it  and  take  care  o'  ole  Governor." 


Ill 

Archie  was  very  humble  as  he  reflected  that  he 
hadn't  done  justice  to  the  intelligence  and  charm, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  professional  skill  of  Dr.  Kather- 
ine  Reynolds  in  his  hurried  glimpse  of  her  at  Heart 
o'  Dreams.  His  fears  that  a  woman  doctor,  who 
was  really  only  a  girl  of  the  age  of  Ruth  and  Isabel, 
would  not  be  equal  to  the  emergency  were  dis 
missed  an  hour  after  she  reached  Huddleston.  She 
brought  the  camp  nurse  with  her  and  was  fortified 
with  bags  of  instruments  and  hospital  supplies. 

She  went  about  her  examination  without  a  ques 
tion  ;  made  it  as  though  she  were  daily  in  the  habit 
of  dealing  with  wounded  men;  specifically  called 
for  boiling  water,  laid  out  sponges  and  bottles  and 
oddly  shaped  trinkets  of  steel,  and  the  Governor's 
room  in  the  ramshackle  hotel  was  quickly  trans 
formed  into  a  surgery.  Perky  had  gone  aboard  the 
tug,  which  was  to  remain  in  the  bay  until  the  out 
come  of  the  Governor's  injury  could  be  learned. 
Putney  Congdon  kept  Archie  company  in  the  hall 
outside  the  sick  room. 

The  morning  was  breaking  when  the  door  opened. 

" There's  about  one  chance  in  a  thousand,"  said 
Dr.  Reynolds,  looking  very  tired  but  smiling  bravely ; 
"but  we've  taken  the  chance.  There  are  reasons, 
I  assume,  why  this  matter  should  be  kept  quiet,  and 
of  course  you  know  the  danger,  —  to  you  and  all 
of  us!" 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      323 

"It's  splendid  of  you  to  accept  the  responsibility; 
be  sure  I  appreciate  it  I" 

"But  I  have  no  right  to  take  it.  I've  done  all  I 
know  how  to  do,  but  there  should  be  another  head 
and  a  surer  hand.  Dr.  Mosgrove  of  Chicago  has  a 
summer  home  twenty  miles  from  Heart  o'  Dreams. 
He's  an  old  friend  of  my  family  and  one  of  the  most 
skilful  surgeons  in  America.  I've  written  him  a 
note  and  I'm  sure  he  will  come  instantly." 

The  note  was  sent  to  the  tug  for  delivery  and  at 
eight  o'clock  the  surgeon  was  at  Huddleston.  He 
was  in  the  sick  room  for  a  long,  a  very  long  time. 
Archie  pounced  upon  him  eagerly  when  he  re 
appeared.  He  eyed  the  young  man  quizzically, 
apparently  immensely  amused  about  something. 

"What  does  all  this  mean  ?"  he  whispered.  "Pi 
rates  in  these  waters  where  I've  been  summering  for 
years !  Men  shot  and  the  police  not  notified !  A 
girl  doctor  attending  the  case !  May  I  trouble  you 
for  your  name,  sir?" 

Archie  replied  with  all  possible  dignity  that  his 
name  was  Ashton  Comly,  and  demanded  a  profes 
sional  opinion  as  to  the  sick  man's  chances  of  recov 
ery.  The  doctor  became  instantly  serious. 

"The  bullet  pierced  the  right  chest  wall  and  of 
course  there  was  immediate  and  copious  hemorrhage. 
You  needn't  trouble  about  the  delay  in  getting  to 
the  doctor;  nature  went  to  work  at  once,  forming 
clots  that  plugged  automatically  the  gaping  mouth 
of  the  severed  vessels.  You  men  were  fortunate  to 
find  Dr.  Reynolds ;  she  has  handled  the  case  admir 
ably.  Dear  me  !  I'm  constantly  astonished  at  these 
girls  !  You  don't  know  perhaps  that  your  attending 
physician  is  a  society  girl  who  studied  medicine  over 


324      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

the  solemn  protest  of  her  family  ?  Sat  on  my  knee  as 
a  child,  and  it  tickles  me  immensely  to  see  how  coolly 
she  takes  this.  I  approve  of  her  work  in  every  par 
ticular." 

"Thank  you,"  cried  Archie.  "Oh,  thank  you  for 
that !  One  thing  more :  would  you  advise  me  to 
summon  the  patient's  sister,  his  only  close  relative, 
I  believe  ?  I  must  do  it  at  once  if  you  think,  pos 
sibly—" 

"Yes.  There  being  always  the  uncertainties,  I 
should  certainly  do  so.  I'll  run  up  in  my  launch 
this  evening." 

Archie  accompanied  Dr.  Mosgrove  aboard  the 
tug  and  gave  Perky  the  hopeful  news  of  the  Gov 
ernor's  condition.  Eliphalet  Congdon  demanded  to 
know  what  had  happened  in  the  night,  and  when  he 
was  to  be  released,  and  Archie  spent  some  time  trying 
to  satisfy  him  that  his  solemn  covenant  with  the 
Governor  would  be  carried  out  in  every  particular. 

Leary,  who  had  returned  to  the  Arthur  B.  Grover 
shortly  after  daylight,  showed  the  strain  of  the  night. 

"It  was  kind  o'  lonesome  buryin'  that  poor  devil 
over  yonder.  There  wasn't  a  thing  on  'im  to  tell 
who  he  was.  That  other  chap  came  to  and  I  did  the 
best  I  could  fer  'im,  and  gave  him  money ;  tole  him 
to  clear  out  and  keep  his  mouth  shet  or  he'd  do  a  lot 
o'  time  for  mixin'  up  with  Carey.  I  tore  down  that 
lunatic's  fort  and  Carey  wouldn't  know  the  place 
himself." 

The  old  fellow's  succinct  report  gave  to  the  burial 
of  the  victim  of  the  night's  encounter  an  added  grue- 
someness.  A  dead  man  hidden  away  under  cover 
of  darkness,  without  benefit  of  clergy,  meant  nothing 
to  Leary,  who  smoked  his  pipe,  and  asked  in  mourn- 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  325 

ful  accents  what  was  to  be  done  with  old  man  Cong- 
don  and  Carey.  These  questions  troubled  Archie 
not  a  little,  but  when  he  suggested  that  the  detective 
had  also  to  be  disposed  of  Leary  grinned  broadly. 

"Ole  Governor  don't  do  nothin'  like  nobody  else; 
y'  must  a-learned  that  by  this  time.  That  chap 
ain't  no  detective ;  he's  a  gun  man  we  sent  to  chum 
with  Carey." 

Archie  bared  his  head  to  the  cool  morning  air. 
It  was  almost  too  much  to  learn  that  Briggs,  who 
had  so  gallantly  played  the  part  of  a  govern 
ment  detective,  was  really  an  ally,  shrewdly  intro 
duced  into  the  Governor's  strategy  to  awaken  fear  in 
Eliphalet  Congdon. 

"Perky  ain't  no  baby,"  Leary  said,  "an'  you  don't 
ketch  'im  runnin'  into  no  detective." 

"But  Perky  wired  the  Governor  that  he  thought 
he  was  being  watched?" 

Leary  grinned  again. 

"Ole  Governor  was  foolin'  you.  That  telegram 
was  jes'  to  let  Governor  know  Briggs  was  on  the  job. 
Got  t'  have  his  little  joke,  ole  Governor.  It  tickles 
'im  t'  fool  us  boys." 

Archie  went  at  once  to  the  Huddleston  station, 
where  he  satisfied  himself  that  the  lonely  agent  knew 
nothing  of  the  transactions  of  the  night.  The  re 
ceipt  and  despatch  of  telegrams  by  the  Governor 
had  been  a  welcome  relief  from  the  routine  business 
of  the  office,  and  recognizing  Archie  as  a  friend  of 
his  patron  Mr.  Saulsbury,  he  expressed  the  hope  that 
they  were  finding  the  fishing  satisfactory. 

Archie  drew  from  the  breast  pocket  of  his  waist 
coat  the  envelope  the  Governor's  sister  had  given 
him  the  night  she  dined  in  the  New  York  house.  In 


326  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

his  subsequent  adventures  he  had  guarded  it  jealously 
as  containing  his  one  clue  to  the  Governor's  iden 
tity.  Now  that  the  evil  hour  the  woman  dreaded 
had  come,  Archie  found  himself  hesitating  as  he 
listened  to  the  agent's  complaint  of  the  fate  that  had 
stranded  him  in  so  desolate  a  spot.  The  man  turned 
to  answer  the  importunity  of  the  instrument  which 
was  sounding  his  call  and  Archie  tore  open  the 
envelope.  In  a  flowing  hand  which  expressed 
something  of  the  grace  and  charm  of  the  woman 
who  had  given  it  to  him  in  circumstances  so  re 
markable,  he  read  : 

Mrs.  Julia  Van  Doren  Graybill 
Until  October  I,  Southampton,  L.  I. 

The  agent  was  taking  a  train  order  and  was  un 
aware  of  the  agitation  of  the  man  at  the  window. 
It  was  the  Van  Doren  that  burnt  itself  into  Archie's 
consciousness.  It  was  an  old  name  of  honorable 
connotations,  one  with  which  he  had  been  familiar 
all  his  life.  It  was  chiseled  in  the  wall  of  the  church 
near  the  pew  held  for  a  hundred  years  by  his  own 
family;  it  was  a  name  of  dignity,  associated  with 
the  best  traditions  of  Manhattan  Island ;  and  this, 
presumably,  was  the  Governor's  name.  Graybill 
was  unfamiliar,  and  this  puzzled  him,  for  he  knew 
and  could  place  half  a  dozen  Van  Dorens,  probably 
relatives  in  some  degree  of  the  Governor,  but  he 
recalled  no  woman  of  the  family  who  had  married 
a  Graybill.  Julia  had  said  at  the  Governor's  that 
she  remembered  him ;  but  even  now  with  her  name 
before  him  he  could  not  place  her. 

He  made  his  message  as  brief  as  possible : 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      327 

Regret  that  I  must  act  on  my  promise  of  several  weeks 
ago  and  use  the  address  given  in  confidence.  Encouraged 
to  believe  that  the  patient  will  recover.  Suggest,  how 
ever,  that  you  come  at  once. 

To  this  he  added  instructions  as  to  the  most  direct 
route  to  Huddleston,  and  signed  himself  Ashton 
Comly. 

He  and  Congdon  were  at  the  supper  table  when 
he  received  the  answer : 

Thank  you.      I  am  just  leaving.     J.  V.  D.  G. 

Archie  was  not  permitted  to  enter  the  sick  room, 
but  from  time  to  time  he  received  assurances  that 
the  patient's  condition  was  "satisfactory,"  and  at 
intervals  Dr.  Reynolds  recited  with  professional 
brevity  data  as  to  temperature,  respiration  and  the 
like.  A  second  nurse  was  imperatively  needed,  but 
when  they  were  considering  the  danger  of  adding  to 
the  number  of  persons  who  knew  that  a  wounded 
man  was  fighting  for  his  life  in  the  abandoned  vil 
lage,  Mrs.  Leary  suggested  Sally  —  Sally  who  had 
been  in  tears  from  the  moment  the  Governor  was 
carried  into  the  house.  Dr.  Reynolds  accepted 
Sally  on  sight  and  the  girl  quickly  adjusted  herself 
to  the  routine  of  the  sick  chamber. 

At  eleven  o'clock  Archie  saw  the  Heart  o'  Dreams 
launch  approaching  Huddleston  and  leaving  Cong 
don  to  answer  any  call  from  the  Governor's  bedside, 
hurried  to  meet  it. 

Ruth  and  Isabel  had  crossed  alone  and  their  stress 
of  mind  and  heart  was  manifest  before  they  landed. 

"I  felt  it;  I  knew  that  it  would  come!"  cried 
Ruth.  "If  only  you  hadn't  gone  there!  It  wasn't 
worth  the  sacrifice." 


328  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"But  we  have  every  reason  to  hope!  We  must 
support  him  with  our  faith  that  he  will  come  out 
of  it!" 

"I  should  never  have  permitted  either  of  you  to 
come  to  this  place,"  said  Isabel.  "I  shall  always 
feel  that  it  was  my  fault." 

The  obligation  to  cheer  them  raised  his  own  spirits 
as  he  explained  the  nature  of  the  Governor's  injury 
while  they  sat  on  the  hotel  veranda.  He  described  the 
fight  at  the  barricade  with  reservations,  mentioning 
not  at  all  the  fact  that  a  man  had  died  as  the  result. 
They  understood  as  fully  as  he  that  the  whole  affair 
must  be  suffered  to  slip  into  oblivion  as  quickly  as 
possible. 

"The  complications  are  so  endless!"  said  Isabel 
with  a  sigh.  "In  that  mass  of  mail  you  delivered 
last  night  I  found  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Congdon  saying 
that  she  would  arrive  today  —  almost  at  once,  in 
fact!" 

"  The  prospect  isn't  wholly  pleasing  !"  he  exclaimed, 
looking  at  his  watch.  "I've  played  the  very  devil 
in  the  Congdons'  affairs.  I  suppose  I  should  lift  my 
hat  politely  as  she  steps  from  the  train  and  tell  her 
that  I'm  the  brute  who  attempted  to  make  her  a 
widow.  She  will  of  course  recognize  me  instantly 
as  the  gentleman  who  escaped  with  her  in  a  taxi  after 
the  kidnaping  of  her  daughter." 

"It  seems  to  me,"  said  Isabel  soberly,  "that  from 
the  very  moment  you  and  I  unfolded  our  napkins  on 
the  tragic  night  of  your  sister's  dinner  the  world  has 
been  upside  down.  If  we  should  ever  tell  all  that  has 
happened,  and  how  we  have  been  whirled  about  and 
made  to  do  things  I'm  sure  we  were  never  intended 
to  do,  there  wouldn't  be  one  sane  person  anywhere 


BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP !  3  29 

who'd  believe  it.  I  feel  like  crying  all  the  time ! 
And  I'm  not  sure  that  I'm  not  responsible  for  all  of 
it,  every  bit  of  it !  Why,  I  may  as  well  tell  you  now 
that  I,  poor,  weak,  foolish  I,  bade  Putney  Congdon 
take  horse  and  ride  gaily  through  the  world,  carving 
people  with  his  stout  sword  !  And  I  played  the  same 
trick  on  you!" 

"Oh,  he  told  me  all  about  that !"  laughed  Archie, 
glad  of  something  to  relieve  the  tension.  "He  told 
me  without  shame  that  he  had  almost  fallen  in  love 
with  you  as  a  distraction  from  his  troubles.  But  I 
didn't  confess  that  you  had  started  me  for  the  peni 
tentiary.  There's  the  train,  and  you  must  permit 
me  to  satisfy  Mrs.  Congdon  that  her  husband  is  in  a 
mood  for  immediate  reconciliation  before  I  break 
the  news  that  he  is  here." 

Mrs.  Putney  Congdon  more  than  justified  the  im 
pression  he  had  formed  of  her  in  their  encounter  in 
Central  Park  by  the  manner  in  which  she  heard  his 
story.  He  told  it  with  all  brevity  on  the  station 
platform.  First  assuring  her  of  Edith's  safety,  he 
made  a  clean  breast  of  the  Bailey  Harbor  visit,  but 
skipped  discreetly  all  that  had  occurred  between  that 
calamitous  excursion  and  his  meeting  with  her  in 
New  York. 

It  was  so  incredible  that  it  was  not  until  he  de 
scribed  his  journey  to  Huddleston  in  Putney's  com 
pany  that  she  was  able  to  see  any  humor  in  the  series 
of  events  that  had  led  them  all  into  the  north. 

"Poor  dear  Putney!  And  he  doesn't  know  yet 
that  you  nearly  killed  him  !" 

"Oh,  there  are  a  lot  of  things  he  doesn't  know. 
Your  father-in-law  has  given  his  solemn  promise  that 
he  will  not  again  attempt  to  meddle  in  your  affairs. 


3  30  BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP ! 

The  umbrella  that  symbolized  his  tyranny  is  at  the 
bottom  of  the  lake  and  if  he  should  die  you  and  your 
children  wouldn't  be  thrown  upon  charity." 

"This  is  all  too  wonderful  to  be  true,"  she  ex 
claimed.  "After  all  the  misery  I've  endured  it  can't 
be  possible  that  happiness  is  just  ahead  of  me.  I 
had  become  resigned  — ' 

"Your  resignation  after  Edith  was  snatched  away 
from  you  there  in  the  park  struck  me  as  altogether 
charming !  Your  conduct  pleased  me  mightily. 
We  were  both  awful  frauds,  fooling  the  police  and 
running  away!" 

"  It  was  delicious  !  I  had  always  had  a  wild  wicked 
desire  to  feel  a  policeman.  Isn't  that  a  dreadful  con 
fession  !  What  must  you  think  of  me  for  admitting 
such  a  thing!"  ' 

"My  own  derelictions  make  me  very  humble; 
it's  only  a  survival  of  the  primitive  in  all  of  us.  I 
shouldn't  worry  about  it.  It's  terribly  easy  to  be 
come  a  lost  sheep,  even  a  black  one.  But  this  is 
not  an  hour  for  philosophical  discussion.  Let  me 
assure  you  that  the  nasty  telegram  that  caused  you 
to  leave  Bailey  Harbor  in  so  bitter  a  spirit  was  the 
work  of  your  father-in-law.  Putney  had  nothing 
to  do  with  it." 

"Oh,  I  rather  guessed  that;  but  I  ran  away  think 
ing  I  might  rouse  my  husband  to  a  little  self-asser 


tion." 


"And  when  he  asserted  himself  sufficiently  to  go 
back  to  you  I  was  right  there  to  shoot  him!" 

"You  are  a  highly  amusing  person !  It  would 
interest  me  a  good  deal  to  know  your  real  name  and 
a  lot  ©f  other  things  about  you." 

"In  due  season  you  shall  know  everything.     Just 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  331 

now  I  haven't  the  heart  to  keep  you  from  your  hus 
band,  and  I'm  going  to  send  him  to  you  immedi 
ately.  And  as  I  shrink  from  telling  a  man  I  like 
so  much  that  I  tried  to  kill  him  not  so  long  ago, 
I'm  going  to  turn  that  agreeable  business  over  to 
you!" 

IV 

That  night  the  Governor's  condition  took  an  un 
favorable  turn  and  Dr.  Mosgrove  was  summoned. 
He  remained  until  the  crisis  was  passed. 

"We  must  expect  progress  to  be  retarded  now  and 
then;  but  now  that  we've  got  by  this  we  may 
feel  more  confident.  He  hasn't  been  wholly  con 
scious  at  any  time,  but  he's  muttered  a  name  several 
times -- Julia;  is  that  the  sister?  Then  the  sight 
of  her  may  help  us  in  a  day  or  two  when  his  mind 
clears  up." 

Archie  was  beset  with  many  fears  as  he  waited 
the  arrival  of  Mrs.  Graybill.  His  utter  ignorance 
of  any  details  touching  the  life  of  his  friend  seemed 
now  to  rise  before  him  like  a  fog  which  he  was  afraid 
to  penetrate.  And  there  was  Ruth,  with  her  hap 
piness  hanging  in  the  balance;  she  was  in  love 
with  a  man  of  whom  she  knew  nothing ;  indeed  the 
mystery  that  enfolded  him  was  a  part  of  his  fascina 
tion  for  her,  no  doubt;  and  if  in  the  Governor's 
past  life  there  was  anything  that  made  marriage 
with  a  young  woman  of  Ruth's  fineness  and  sweet 
ness  hazardous,  the  sooner  it  was  known  the  better. 
But  when  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  Mrs.  Graybill  in 
the  vestibule  of  the  train  his  apprehensions  vanished. 
The  poise,  the  serenity  of  -temper,  an  unquestioning 
acceptance  of  the  fate  that  played  upon  her  life, 


332      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

which  he  had  felt  at  their  first  meeting  struck  him 
anew. 

"Our  patient  is  doing  well.  The  news  is  all  good," 
he  said  at  once. 

"I  felt  that  it  would  be;  I  couldn't  believe  that 
this  was  the  end !" 

"We  will  hope  that  it  is  only  the  beginning!"  he 
said  gravely. 

"A  capital  place  for  a  beginning,  or  ending !"  she 
remarked  glancing  with  a  rueful  smile  at  the  deso 
late  street  and  shabby  hotel. 

Putney  and  his  wife  had  moved  to  Heart  o'  Dreams 
for  a  few  days.  It  would  be  a  second  honeymoon, 
Putney  said.  Mrs.  Graybill  was  introduced  into 
the  hotel  without  embarrassment.  It  might  have 
seemed  that  she  had  foreseen  just  such  a  situa 
tion  and  prepared  for  it.  She  won  Dr.  Reynolds' 
heart  by  the  brevity  of  her  questions,  and  expressed 
her  satisfaction  with  everything  that  had  been  done. 
When  she  came  down  to  the  dining-room  for  lunch 
eon  she  avoided  all  reference  to  the  sick  man.  In  her 
way  she  was  as  remarkable  as  the  Governor  himself. 
Her  arrival  had  greatly  stirred  Mrs.  Leary,  who, 
deprived  of  Sally's  services,  served  the  table.  Archie 
was  struck  by  the  fact  that  with  only  the  exchange 
of  commonplace  remarks  the  two  women,  born  into 
utterly  different  worlds,  seemed  to  understand  each 
other  perfectly.  He  had  merely  told  Mrs.  Leary 
that  the  Governor's  sister  was  coming  and  warned 
her  against  letting  fall  any  hint  of  her  knowledge  of 
his  ways. 

"I've  never  been  in  these  parts  before,"  Julia  re 
marked  tb  Archie;  "I  should  be  glad  if  you'd  show 
me  the  beach.  We  might  take  a  walk  a  little  later." 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      333 

The  hour  in  which  he  waited  for  her  tried  his  soul. 
The  Governor  was  the  one  man  who  had  ever  roused 
in  him  a  deep  affection,  and  the  dread  of  finding  that 
under  his  flippancy,  his  half-earnest,  half-boyish 
make-believe  devotion  to  the  folk  of  the  underworld, 
he  was  really  an  irredeemable  rogue,  tortured  him. 
These  were  disloyal  thoughts ;  he  hated  himself  for 
his  doubts.  It  was  impossible  that  a  man  of  the 
Governor's  blood,  his  vigor  of  mind  and  oddly  mani 
fested  chivalry  could  ever  have  been  more  than  a 
trifler  with  iniquity. 

"I'm  going  to  ask  you  to  bear  with  me,"  said  Mrs. 
Graybill  when  they  reached  the  shore,  "if  I  seem  to 
be  making  this  as  easy  for  myself  as  possible.  I 
know  that  my  brother  cares  a  great  deal  for  you. 
He  sent  me  little  notes  now  and  then  —  he  always 
did  that,  though  the  intervals  were  sometimes  long; 
I  know  that  he  would  want  you  to  know.  Things 
have  reached  a  point  where  if  he  lives  he  will  tell 
you  himself." 

"Please  don't  think  I  have  any  feeling  that  I  have 
any  right  to  know.  It's  very  generous  of  you  to 
want  to  tell  me.  But  first  it's  only  fair  to  give  you 
a  few  particulars  about  myself.  You  said  in  New 
York  that  you  knew  me  and  I  must  apologize  for  my 
failure  to  recall  our  meeting." 

"It  was  fortunate  you  didn't!  I've  known  some 
of  your  family,  I  think ;  your  sister  is  Mrs.  Howard 
Featherstone.  Away  back  somewhere  the  Van 
Dorens  and  a  Bennett  owned  some  property  jointly. 
It  may  have  been  an  uncle  of  yours  ?" 

"  Yes ;  Archibald  Bennett,  for  whom  I  was  named." 

"That's  very  odd  ;  but  it  saves  explanations.  We 
are  not  meeting  quite  as  strangers.  " 


334  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

"I  felt  that  the  moment  I  saw  the  name  Van 
Doren.  I  had  never  seen  your  brother  until  we  met 
in  Maine;  he  was  of  the  greatest  service  to  me; 
I  was  in  sorry  plight  when  he  picked  me  up." 

He  was  prepared  to  tell  the  story  of  the  meeting, 
everything  indeed  that  had  occurred.  He  had  im 
agined  that  she  would  be  immensely  curious  as  to  all 
the  phases  and  incidents  of  his  relationship  with  her 
brother. 

"Just  now  I  shall  be  happier  not  to  know,"  she 
said,  and  added  with  a  smile:  "Later,  when  my 
heart  is  lighter  than  it  is  today  you  may  tell  me." 

She  was  magnificent,  a  thoroughbred,  this  woman, 
who  walked  beside  him  with  the  air  of  a  queen  who 
might  lose  a  throne  but  never  the  mastery  of  her 
own  soul.  She  was  far  more  at  ease  than  he,  walk 
ing  with  her  hands  thrust  carelessly  into  the  pockets 
of  her  coat,  halting  now  and  then  to  gaze  across  the 
water. 

"My  brother  is  Philip  Van  Doren,  and  there  were 
just  the  two  of  us.  An  unusual  sympathy  bound 
us  together  from  childhood,  and  there  was  never  a 
closer  tie  between  brother  and  sister.  I  married 
his  most  intimate  friend.  My  husband  betrayed 
him ;  it  was  the  breach  of  a  trust  in  which  they  were 
jointly  liable.  It  was  not  merely  a  theft,  it  was  a 
gross,  dastardly  thing,  without  a  single  mitigating 
circumstance.  My  husband  killed  himself." 

She  spoke  without  a  quaver  of  the  beautiful  voice, 
meeting  his  gaze  as  she  uttered  the  last  sentence  as 
though  anxious  to  spare  herself  nothing  in  her  desire 
to  convince  him  of  her  perfect  composure.  One 
might  have  thought  her  an  amiable  woman  attempt 
ing  to  entertain  a  dull  companion  by  summarizing  a 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      335 

tale  she  had  read  that  had  not  interested  her  partic 
ularly. 

"It  broke  Philip's  heart;  it  broke  his  spirit!  It 
destroyed  his  generous  faith  in  all  men.  He  was  a 
brilliant  student  in  college  and  promised  to  go  far 
in  the  law;  but  he  felt  keenly  the  dishonor.  The 
financial  part  of  it  he  of  course  took  care  of;  that 
was  the  least  of  it.  There  was  always  a  strain  of 
mysticism  in  him ;  and  he  had  gone  deeply  into 
astrology  and  things  like  that ;  and  when  the  dark 
hour  came  he  pretended  to  find  consolation  in  them. 
He  was  born  under  an  evil  star,  he  said,  and  would 
not  be  free  of  its  spell  until  he  had  passed  through  a 
period  of  servitude.  It  sounds  like  insanity,  but  it 
was  only  a  grim  ironic  distortion  of  his  reason.  He 
said  that  if  honor  was  so  poor  a  thing  he  would  seek 
a  world  that  knew  no  honor.  I  dread  to  think  how 
rje  has  spent  these  years  !" 

"I  have  found  him  the  kindest,  the  most  loyal, 
the  most  lovable  of  men.  He  has  simply  mocked  at 
life  —  the  life  he  used  to  know." 

"Yes;  I  suppose  that  was  the  way  of  it,"  she 
said  pensively.  "In  one  of  his  brief  messages  he 
spoke  of  a  young  woman  who  had  interested  him, 
but  I  never  can  tell  when  he's  serious  - 

Archie  met  the  question  promptly. 

"A  charming  young  girl,  Ruth  Hastings,  whose 
antecedents  and  connections  are  the  best.  You 
need  have  no  fears  on  that  score.  You  shall  see  her, 
very  soon." 

She  permitted  him  to  describe  the  meeting  with 
Ruth  and  Isabel  at  Rochester,  and  her  face  betrayed 
relief  and  pleasure  as  he  made  it  clear  that  the  Gov 
ernor's  romance  was  in  no  way  discreditable. 


336      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

"It  is  curious,  and  in  his  own  way  of  looking  at 
things  may  be  significant,  that  your  telegram 
reached  me  on  the  day  following  the  seventh  anni 
versary  of  the  beginning  of  his  exile." 

"  He  had  looked  forward  to  the  seventh  anniver 
sary  as  marking  the  end  of  the  dark  influences ;  he 
believed  there  would  be  a  vast  change  in  his  affairs." 

"If  only  he  lives  !"  she  exclaimed.  "Is  it  possible 
that  he  can  ever  step  back  into  the  world  he  left  ?" 

"You  may  be  sure  he  has  planned  a  return,  with 
marriage  at  the  very  threshold." 

"Then  God  grant  that  he  may  live!"  she  said 
fervently. 

The  following  evening,  after  Dr.  Mosgrove's 
visit  had  left  their  hopes  high,  Archie  carried  her 
to  Heart  o'  Dreams.  Happiness  shone  in  the  stars 
over  the  northern  waters.  Putney  Congdon  and 
his  wife  were  enjoying  to  the  full  the  peace  that 
followed  upon  the  storms  of  their  married  life.  They 
had  established  themselves  in  a  tent  on  the  out 
skirts  of  the  camp  and  declared  that  they  might  re 
main  there  forever.  A  girl  bugler  sounded  taps 
and  the  lights  went  out,  leaving  tired  and  happy 
youth  to  the  fellowship  of  dreams. 

Isabel  gave  Archie  no  opportunity  to  speak  to 
her  alone,  and  he  found  her  aloofness  dismaying. 
Her  scruples  against  hearing  protestations  of  love 
from  a  man  she  believed  she  had  injured  were  credi 
table  to  her  conscience,  but  Archie  was  all  impatient 
to  shatter  them.  She  made  a  candid  confession  to 
Mrs.  Congdon,  with  Putney  and  Archie  standing  by. 

"With  malice  aforethought  I  practiced  my  vam- 
pirish  arts  upon  these  two  men !  And,  Alice,  the 
cruelest  thing  you  could  do  would  be  to  forgive  me ! 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      337 

I  couldn't  bear  it.  I  flirted  with  Mr.  Congdon ;  not 
only  that  but  I  took  advantage  of  his  distress  over  his 
father's  efforts  to  estrange  you  two  to  counsel  him 
to  lead  a  reckless,  devil-may-care  existence.  And  I 
tried  the  same  thing  on  Mr.  Bennett,  only  he  was 
much  more  susceptible  than  your  husband  and  took 
me  more  seriously.  I  want  you,  one  and  all,  to  be 
sure  that  I  hate  myself  most  cordially  !" 

"The  end  justified  the  means,  I  think,"  said 
Mrs.  Congdon. 

"I  found  a  friend  I'm  not  going  to  lose  as  one 
result,"  said  Putney.  "And  if  the  sick  man  across 
the  bay  recovers  I  hope  I  have  another  lifelong 
friend  there." 

"Oh,  it's  all  so  strange!"  cried  Mrs.  Congdon. 
"One  might  think  that  we  must  suffer  tribulation 
before  we  know  what  perfect  happiness  is !  And  I 
never  expect  to  understand  all  that  has  happened 
to  you  men.  Is  it  possible  that  you'll  ever  settle 
down  again  ?" 

"That  depends  -  '  Archie  remarked,  glancing 
meaningfully  at  Isabel,  —  a  glance  which  Mrs. 
Congdon  detected  and  appraised  with  that  pre 
science  which  makes  every  woman  a  match-maker. 

On  the  wharf  they  lingered,  like  a  company  of 
old  friends  reluctant  for  even  a  brief  parting;  Ruth, 
lantern  in  hand,  stood  beside  Mrs.  Graybill,  look 
ing  like  a  child  beside  the  stately  woman.  As 
Archie  cried  "All  aboard,"  Julia  caught  Ruth  in  her 
arms  and  kissed  her. 

"Good  night,  little  girl !"  she  said  softly. 

It  was  like  a  benediction  and  the  very  gracious- 
ness  of  act  and  word  lightened  Archie's  vigil  as  all 
night  he  watched  outside  the  Governor's  door. 


338  BLACKSHEEP !    BLACKSHEEP ! 


On  the  eighth  day  Dr.  Mosgrove  announced  that 
his  visits  were  nojlonger  necessary;  he  ran  up  to 
Huddleston,  he  told  Archie,  for  the  pleasure  of 
meeting  the  agreeable  people  he  found  there.  The 
Governor  was  making  an  extraordinary  recovery, 
and  the  bracing  northern  air  would  soon  set  him  up. 
Someone  was  always  on  the  water  between  Leary's 
hotel  and  Heart  o'  Dreams,  and  clouds  no  longer 
darkened  the  bay. 

Dr.  Mosgrove  had  made  a  careful  examination 
of  Carey,  and  recommended  that  he  be  sent  to  a 
sanatorium  for  treatment.  Perky  undertook  to 
carry  him  to  a  private  institution  near  Chicago 
suggested  by  the  doctor,  and  this  became  another  of 
the  series  of  strange  errands  that  fell  to  the  lot  of 
the  Arthur  B.  Grover.  Eliphalet  Congdon  had  been 
importuning  Archie  to  release  him,  but  it  had  seemed 
wise  to  give  the  erratic  millionaire  more  time  in 
which  to  meditate  upon  his  sins. 

When  the  tug  returned  Archie  found  that  the 
old  gentleman  had  taken  advantage  of  a  day's 
parole  in  Chicago  to  do  considerable  shopping. 
In  a  new  suit  of  clothes  he  really  looked,  as  Perky 
said,  like  a  white  man ;  but  the  change  in  him  was 
not  merely  as  to  his  outward  person.  He  opened 
a  bag  on  deck  and  displayed  with  pride  a  pearl 
necklace  he  had  purchased  for  his  daughter-in-law, 
a  handsome  watch  for  young  Edith  and  another 
for  his  grandson,  whom  Mrs.  Congdon  had  left  with 
a  friend  in  the  east. 

"I  guess  I  haven't  been  square  with  Putney," 
he  remarked,  "and  now's  a  good  time  to  let  him 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  339 

know  how  I  feel  about  it.  Here,"  he  continued, 
producing  a  bulky  envelope,  "is  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars  in  government  bonds  that 
he  may  use  as  he  likes." 

"  Grand ;  perfectly  bully  ! "  cried  Archie.  "  Please 
consider  yourself  discharged  from  the  ship.  We'll 
go  right  over  to  Heart  o'  Dreams  and  spread  the 
glad  tidings." 

Though  so  many  vistas  were  brightening,  Archie 
was  still  troubled  by  Isabel's  persistent  refusal  to 
see  him  alone,  or  to  give  him  any  opportunity  to 
break  down  the  barriers  she  had  raised  against  him. 
After  luncheon  at  the  camp,  where  Eliphalet  Cong- 
don  proved  himself  a  very  likable  human  being, 
he  sought  her  as  she  was  leaving  the  dining  hall. 

Her  young  charges  were  skipping  gaily  about 
her;  there  was  no  question  of  their  admiration 
and  affection  for  her.  He  caught  the  spirit  of  their 
gaiety  and  took  advantage  of  a  moment  when 
Isabel  emerged  smiling  from  an  adoring  group  to 
plant  himself  before  her. 

"You  are  running  away  from  me  !"  he  said  sternly. 
"And  that's  not  fair." 

"Oh,  this  is  my  busiest  day!  You  mustn't  think 
a  place  like  this  runs  automatically." 

"I  think  nothing  of  the  kind.  But  your  studied 
efforts  to  escape  from  me  are  embarrassing.  Ruth,  the 
Congdons,  Mrs.  Graybill — everybody  is  noticing  it !" 

"Certain  matters  are  one's  personal  affair,"  she 
answered.  "Really  I  must  ask  you  to  excuse  me." 

"I  refuse  to  be  snubbed  again!  You  are  tram 
pling  me  under  foot,  and  I  refuse  to  be  stepped  on 
any  more.  I  wish  to  assure  you,  Miss  Perry,  that 
my  love  for  you  is  not  to  be  spurned  with  impunity ! " 


340      BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

"Please  be  careful!  Those  girls  over  there  are 
watching  us." 

"A  wonderful  opportunity  for  them  to  see  a  des 
perate  man  making  love;  an  invaluable  part  of 
their  education !  They  will  never  forget  how  I  fell 
upon  my  knees  and  declared  myself!" 

"Oh,  you  wouldn't !  You  really  wouldn't !  You 
forget  that  these  children  are  highly  impressionable  !" 

"So  am  I,  and  extremely  sensitive.  It  would  be 
fine  if  you'd  join  me  in  a  little  walk.  If  you  refuse 
I  shall  follow  you  the  rest  of  the  day  singing.  The 
Governor  and  I  did  a  good  deal  of  singing  in  our 
travels  and  — " 

As  he  filled  his  lungs  as  though  about  to  burst 
into  song  she  hastily  turned  toward  the  wood. 

"You  seem  to  forget  that  I'm  mistress  here 
while  you're  merely  a  guest !  I  hate  to  say  it,  but 
you're  in  serious  danger  of  becoming  a  nuisance." 

"You're  not  resentful  and  hateful  enough  yet  to 
frighten  me  away. 

'He  either  fears  his  fate  too  much, 

Or  his  deserts  are  small, 
That  dares  not  put  it  to  the  touch 
To  gain  or  lose  it  all.' 

"It's  a  fact  we  can't  escape  from  that  you  and  I  are 
not  free  agents  and  we  haven't  been  from  the  very 
moment  we  met  at  May's  house.  And  the  lines 
converge  here ;  you've  got  to  admit  that !" 

"But  they  lead  away  again  in  quite  opposite  di 
rections.  It  is  cruel  of  you  to  insist  — " 

"I  insist  that  I  love  you!  That's  the  only  thing 
that  matters !" 


BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP!      341 

"Except,"  she  corrected,  "your  cheerful  assump 
tion  that  I  reciprocate  the  feeling,  when  - 

"Let  me  begin  all  over  again,"  he  interrupted 
hastily.  "You  must  realize  that  all  the  odd 
happenings  that  followed  our  meeting  in  Washington 
have  come  out  pretty  well ;  only  this  little  affair  of 
ours—" 

"You  call  it  an  affair!  Calamity  would  be  a 
better  term  for  it." 

This  silenced  him  for  some  time.  Tradition  held 
that  the  trail  they  followed  was  an  inheritance  from 
Indian  times ;  it  was  like  an  ineffaceable  line  drawn 
in  the  forest  by  the  red  men  in  assertion  of  their 
permanent  title  to  the  soil. 

As  she  walked  before  him,  carrying  her  head  high, 
his  heart  ached  with  love  for  her.  It  would  be 
best  perhaps  not  to  urge  her  further;  to  wait  until 
the  camp  closed  and  then  see  her  in  a  different 
environment.  It  might  be  that  his  sister  would 
arrange  this  for  him,  and  he  took  courage  from  the 
thought. 

"It  has  been  in  my  mind  for  a  day  or  two  that 
May  must  be  wondering  what's  become  of  me.  I 
always  write  to  her,  you  know;  and  she  imagines 
me  in  the  Rockies.  There  must  be  a  stack  of  mail 
waiting  for  me  at  Banff;  I  must  wire  to  have  it 
forwarded." 

"You  needn't  necessarily  give  up  the  trip - 

She  turned  her  head  to  dodge  an  overhanging 
bough  and  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  her  face ;  she  was 
crying;  and  new  and  world-shaking  emotions  were 
stirred  in  him  by  the  sight  of  her  tear-wet  cheek. 

"Do  you  know,"  he  said,  "when  we  talk  about 
clearing  up  things  I'd  forgotten  about  that  buried 


342  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

treasure.  I  think  it  would  be  a  mistake  for  me  to 
leave  without  exhausting  all  the  possibilities  of 
finding  your  grandfather's  buried  gold.  I  wonder 
if  poor  Carey  knew  any  more  about  it  than 
you  do !" 

"I'm  sure  he  didn't.  There  are  holes  here  and 
there  in  these  woods  that  he  dug  in  his  search.  Fie 
had  an  idea  that  it  might  be  found  in  the  ruins  of 
grandfather's  house,  but  that  stood  where  I  built 
the  camp  hall  and  I  had  the  old  cellar  thoroughly 
explored.  Why!"  she  exclaimed,  stopping  short 
and  glancing  about  thoughtfully,  "that's  strange." 

"We're  lost,  I  hope!" 

"Not  lost;  but  there  was  a  fork  in  the  trail  and 
I  must  have  made  the  wrong  turn.  I  don't  remember 
that  I  ever  saw  that  fallen  tree  before." 

At  some  time,  perhaps  several  years  earlier,  a 
storm  had  evidently  centered  its  fury  about  the 
place  where  they  stood,  and  a  big  hemlock  crushing 
in  its  fall  several  smaller  trees  lay  prone  across  the 
trail. 

"That  old  fellow  must  have  made  a  mighty  crash 
when  he  went  down.  I'm  sure  that  I  never  came 
this  way  before." 

"Here's  an  old  scar,"  said  Archie,  "where  some 
one  must  have  blazed  the  tree  years  and  years  ago. 
It's  the  mark  of  an  ax  or  hatchet.  And  look ! 
Three  other  big  trees  bear  the  same  mark.  They 
define  a  square  and  must  have  been  made  for  some 
purpose !" 

Discussion  of  the  markings  brought  them  imme 
diately  into  accord.  Isabel  v/as  perplexed  to  find 
herself  in  a  spot  she  had  never  visited  before  though 
she  had  spent  the  previous  summer  on  the  land, 


BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP!  343 

planning  the  camp,  and  thought  she  knew  every 
foot  of  it.  She  peered  into  the  pit  torn  by  the  roots 
of  the  huge  tree.  The  sunlight  glinted  brightly 
upon  something  that  lay  half  hidden  in  the  earth. 

"Oh,  how  wonderful!"  she  cried  and  placed  a 
gold  piece  in  his  hands. 

They  knelt  together,  tearing  up  the  weeds  and 
loosening  the  earth.  It  was  Archie  who  quickly 
found  a  second  coin,  a  ten-dollar  gold  piece  stamped 
1859.  With  a  stick  he  dug  into  the  hole  and  soon 
they  had  made  a  little  heap  of  bright  coins,  laughing 
like  children  with  each  discovery.  A  deeper  probe 
resulted  in  the  unearthing  of  a  splintered  cedar 
plank  evidently  torn  from  a  chest  that  had  con 
tained  the  money. 

"Of  all  the  astonishing  things  that  ever  happened 
this  is  the  most  utterly  paralyzing!"  exclaimed 
Archie  jubilantly. 

Using  the  board  as  a  spade  he  scooped  out  a  capful 
of  coins  —  gold,  American,  English  and  French, 
which  the  Southerner  had  buried  in  the  northern 
wilderness. 

"It  won't  do  to  leave  this  place  unprotected,  and 
we  must  stop  or  we'll  have  more  than  we  can  carry. 
We  must  bring  Putney  back  to  help.  It's  my 
guess  that  there's  a  chest  of  money  at  the  foot  of 
each  of  these  blazed  trees." 

"And  pretty  good  hiding  places,  too,  where  tne 
gold  might  have  remained  forever  if — " 

"If  you  hadn't  been  hating  me  so  that  you  lost 
your  way!" 

They  stood  with  the  heap  of  gold  between  them, 
the  bewilderment  of  discovery  in  their  eyes. 

"This  is  the  end  of  the  rainbow  and  the  gold  lies 


S44  BLACKSHEEP!    BLACKSHEEP! 

at  our  feet!"  he  said,  and  he  took  her  hands,  and 
the  one  still  wearing  the  bandage  he  held  very,  very 
gently.  "Love  we  know  to  be  better  than  much 
fine  gold ;  and  wouldn't  it  be  a  pity  for  the  finding 
of  these  coins  to  mark  the  very  end,  with  nothing 
beyond !  And  life  is  so  big  and  wonderful  I  want 
your  help  to  make  mine  of  some  use  — " 

She  looked  at  him  long  and  searchingly,  and  her 
eyes  were  so  grave,  their  questioning  seemed  so 
interminable,  that  he  did  not  know  until  she  spoke 
that  her  lips  had  trembled  into  a  smile. 

"If  you  can  forgive  me,"  she  said;  and  she  laid 
her  hands  upon  his  shoulders,  lightly  as  though 
by  their  touch  she  were  investing  him  with  her  hope 
in  life  renewed  and  strengthened,  and  giving  pledge 
that  they  would  walk  together  thereafter  to  the  end 
of  their  days. 


During  his  convalescence  the  matter  of  the  sixty 
thousand  dollars  taken  from  Seebrook  at  Cornford 
troubled  the  Governor  greatly.  While  lie  had  not 
personally  profited  by  that  transaction  it  was,  he 
said,  his  nearest  approach  to  actual  larceny  and  he 
wished  to  make  reparation,  the  more  particularly  as 
Eliphalet  complained  that  the  sale  of  his  stock  was 
frustrated  by  the  mysterious  substitution  of  Leary's 
stolen  bills  for  the  money  in  Seebrook's  trunk. 
Whereupon  Archie  bought  the  stock  from  Eliphalet 
and  sent  it  with  ten  thousand  dollars  in  cash  to  See- 
brook,  enclosing  in  the  packet  he  confided  to  Briggs 
for  delivery  a  note  explaining  that  the  theft  had  been 
a  mere  bit  of  pleasantry  for  which  the  guilty  person 
offered  the  sincerest  apologies. 


BLACKSKEEPI    BLACKSHEEP!  345 

Before  he  left  the  North  the  Governor  made 
generous  provision  for  all  who  had  shared  his 
fortunes.  Perky  sold  the  Arthur  B.  Grover  to  a 
dredging  company  in  Chicago  and  the  proceeds  were 
divided  among  the  crew.  To  each  man's  share  the 
Governor  made  a  substantial  addition  with  the 
stipulation  that  the  recipient  should  engage  there 
after  in  some  honorable  calling.  It  may  be  said 
that  in  every  instance  of  which  the  present  chronicler 
has  knowledge  the  man  thus  endowed  invested 
wisely  in  a  lawful  business  and  so  far  has  kept  his 
promise. 

When  he  closed  the  hotel  Leary  took  Perky  to 
his  home  further  up  the  lake,  and  as  Mrs.  Leary  was 
perfectly  capable  of  managing  the  confectionery 
alone,  the  two  old  friends  purchased  a  garage,  where 
in  the  abundant  leisure  of  the  long  northern  winters 
they  discuss  the  exploits  of  their  lawless  days  and 
read  the  newspaper  reports  of  the  performances  of 
their  successors  in  the  predatory  arts,  deploring, 
of  course,  the  ineptitude  of  the  new  generation. 
The  underground  trail  ceased  to  exist  with  the  passing 
of  the  Governor,  and  as  you  tour  the  Green  Moun 
tain  State  you  may  pause  at  Bill  Walker's  farm 
and  enjoy  a  glass  of  buttermilk  on  his  veranda  with 
out  fear  of  a  raid  by  the  constabulary. 

Eliphalet  Congdon  is  at  peace  with  all  the  world, 
and  wherever  a  chess  tournament  is  forward  he 
may  be  observed,  sometimes  an  interested  spectator, 
but  not  infrequently  a  participant  and  a  shrewd 
and  dangerous  adversary. 

Sally  Walker  deserves  and  shall  receive  a  final 
word.  When  Mrs.  Graybill  left  Huddleston,  happy 
and  wholly  at  ease  as  to  her  brother's  future,  she 


346       BLACKSHEEP!  BLACKSHEEP! 

took  Sally  with  her,  with  every  intention  of  adopting 
the  girl  and  carrying  her  abroad  for  a  protracted 
stay.  As  Pete  Barney  was  killed  late  in  the  summer 
while  attempting  to  escape  from  the  Ohio  peni 
tentiary,  Sally  was  quite  free  to  enter  upon  a  new 
life,  and  from  all  accounts  she  is  realizing  fully  the 
expectations  of  her  benefactress. 

In  the  loveliest  of  Colorado's  valleys  you  may,  if 
you  exercise  your  eyes  intelligently,  note  three 
houses  in  the  Spanish  style,  with  roads  that  link 
them  together  as  though  publishing  the  fact  that 
the  owners  of  the  surrounding  ranches  are  bound 
by  the  closest  and  dearest  ties.  As  an  adjunct 
of  his  residence  Putney  Congdon  maintains  a  ma 
chine  shop  where  he  finds  ample  time  for  experi 
ment.  The  Archibald  Bennetts  are  learning  all 
there  is  to  know  about  fruit  culture;  and  they 
are  so  happy  that  they  are  in  danger  of  forgetting 
the  existence  of  cities.  Farthest  of  the  three  homes 
from  the  railroad,  and  where  the  hills  begin,  Philip 
and  Ruth  Van  Doren  chose  their  abode.  And 
you  may  see  them  any  day  that  you  care  to  pene 
trate  to  their  broad  pastures,  riding  together, 
viewing  with  contemplative  eyes  the  distant  peaks 
or  the  cattle  that  are  the  Governor's  delight,  a  link, 
he  says,  between  the  present  and  the  olden  times 
when  the  world  was  young.  And  often  at  night, 
when  they  are  not  with  the  Congdons  or  the  Bennetts, 
they  ride  for  hours  in  silence,  so  great  is  their  happi 
ness,  so  perfect  their  understanding,  so  deep  their 
confidence  in  the  stars. 


"Books  by  MEREDITH  NICHOLSON 


Lady  Larkspur 

"This  is  pure  comedy  carried  on  in  high  spirits 
and  mingled  with  the  charm  of  romance." 

— Outlook. 

"There  is  a  gracefulness  to  the  dialogue  and  an 
artistic  balance  in  the  characterization  that  keep  one 
reminded  that  this  is  an  author  who  is  also  an  artist 
down  to  the  last  word." — Philadelphia  Press. 

"Mr.  Nicholson  keeps  us  entertained  and  uncer-r 
tain  to  the  end." — Boston  Herald. 


The  Madness  of  May 

Illustrated  by  Frederic  'Dorr  Steels 

"May  to  Mr.  Nicholson  is  neither  a  person  nor  a 
month.  It  is  a  state  of  mind  and  an  intoxication  of 
spirit.  The  little  tale  is  a  gay  and  joyous  fantasy 
that  plays  with  the  imagination  like  the  wind  through 
new-leafed  trees." — New  York  Sun. 

"No  one  wno  wishes  to  be  charmed  out  of  him 
self  or  herself  for  an  hour  or  so  should  neglect  to  read 
the  story." — Philadelphia  Ledger. 

" Meredith  Nicholson  has  written  nothing  more' 
charmingly  fanciful  or  more  filled  with  the  spirit  of 
the  springtime  than  'The  Madness  of  May/  ' 

— St.  Louis  Republic. 


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